The LME nickel futures rose by US$53 yesterday (January 25), closing at US$16,701/ton. The spot price also increased by US$53, reaching US$16,469/ton. The nickel price hit a four-week high since December 28 last year. The price increase has reached US$98 so far this year, a growth of 0.6%.

At the same time, the LME-monitored nickel inventory fell by 12 tons, coming to 69,330 tons, a decrease for four consecutive weeks. The cumulative increase this month has totaled 5,274 tons, an increase of 8.2%.

The US dollar strengthened while stocks rose sharply. China's policies stimulated the market, the LME nickel inventories continued dropping, and the delayed RKAB approval in Indonesia exacerbated concerns about the tight supply of nickel mines, all of which drove up nickel prices. However, due to the oversupply, the nickel market was expected to fluctuate in the near term.