At 10.43 am, LME nickel for 3 month delivery was at 42,700 usd a tonne, hitting a new all time high of 43,150 usd earlier. Yesterday, the metal hit what was then an all time high of 42,350 usd.
"Nickel is continuing where it left off yesterday and the day before based on strong fundamentals, (LME) stocks are down again today ... stainless steel sector demand is strong," said BaseMetals.com analyst Martin Hayes.
Stainless steel demand accounts for about 70 pct of total nickel consumption, and Hayes said there is very little evidence this demand is abating or that manufacturers are looking to substitute.
The LME said in a daily report that its nickel stocks fell 222 to total 3,426 tonnes. This leaves less than 3,000 tonnes available to the market - equivalent to less than a day's worth of global consumption.
Tin was up at 13,700 usd a tonne against 13,600 usd at the close yesterday, still benefiting from news out yesterday Indonesia is considering export quotas to put a floor of 12,000 usd a tonne under prices.
Lead was up at 1,880 usd a tonne against 1,850 usd at the close yesterday, underpinned by news of a blast at a Zinifex lead smelter at Port Pirie in Australia.
Copper was up at 6,305 usd a tonne against 6,140 usd at the close yesterday, aluminium was up at 2,745 usd against 2,730 usd while zinc was up at 3,400 usd against 3,360 usd. |
