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Both nickel and aluminium’s three-month prices soared to multi-year highs during the day, but closed on a downward move.
Nickel’s intraday price difference surpassed Wednesday’s record of $1,670 per tonne, reaching $1,810 per tonne, the highest recorded difference since 2009.
Speculation over further US sanctions against Russian nickel producer Nornickel remained a dominant aspect of price uncertainty.
“Nickel is consolidating after it surged to a three-year high amid supply-side concerns. Prices are possibly overbought in the short term, but in view of the underlying fundamentals we believe price sentiment is likely to remain supported,” James Moore, analyst at Metal Bulletin said.
The metal’s afternoon drop goes against the grain of certain market sentiments, with INTL FCStone’s Ed Meir suggesting that nickel’s price could rally over $17,000 per tonne.
Aluminium’s three-month price dropped 2% to $2,485 per tonne despite reaching a high of $2,718 per tonne.
The light metal’s three-month price remains volatile after US sanctions against Rusal continue to impact the base metals complex, typified in last week’s deliveries of more than 100,000 tonnes.
There were 36,150 tonnes of fresh cancelations across Europe and Asia this morning.
Elsewhere in the complex, copper’s three-month price fell below $7,000 per tonne after finding support at Wednesday’s close.
Zinc and lead’s three-month prices dipped lower despite strong fundamental backdrops in both metals supporting potential price rises.
Tin’s three-month price is largely consolidating in positive territory above $21,000 per tonne despite supply tightness in Indonesia continuing to contribute to mixed sentiment for the metal.
Nickel, aluminium prices slump
Currency moves and data releases