Nickel Prices Jump Over 100%, Breach $100,000 A Ton For The First Time Ever

Nickel prices more than doubled to breach $100,000 per ton for the first time ever on Tuesday, after their biggest daily percentage gain on record in the previous session, as supply disruption fears gripped markets amid an escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict.

According to Reuters, three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange soared 71 per cent to $82,250 per ton. Earlier in the session, the prices shot up a touch over 110 per cent, to a record $101,365 per ton.

"Fear of shortages is triggering panic buying," Vijay L Bhambwani, head of research at Mumbai-based Equitymaster, told Reuters.

Oil and other commodities prices have soared as industrial buyers and traders scrambled amid supply disruptions linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The United States said it was willing to ban Russian oil imports, stoking investor fears over inflation and slowing economic growth. But Russia has warned oil costs could soar to $300 if the threat of ban is pulled through.

Russia accounts for around 10 per cent of the global production of nickel, which is used to make stainless steel and batteries for electric vehicles.

Nickel prices traded up 76 per cent at $50,925 a ton on Monday.

"As sanctions against the Russians got rolled out last week with unprecedented speed, investors found themselves stripping away all Russian output from their supply and demand projections and marking up prices accordingly," noted ED&F Man Capital Markets analyst Edward Meir.