(Bloomberg) -- Nickel is all the rage, surging more than 9 percent the past two days to the highest since 2015. But don't expect metal hoarders to be cashing in on stashes of nickel coins just yet.
The U.S. nickel, which contains about 25 percent of the metal and 75 percent copper, is still only worth about 4.2 cents, based on calculations using the metals' spot prices. Nickel climbed 4.1 percent to $12,758 a metric ton at 4:26 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange Wednesday. Copper rose 1.2 percent to $6,898.75 a ton.
Nickel would have to surge a lot further to bring the coin to face value, and some analysts are already questioning the rally.
While “we envisage very good long-term prospects for nickel, thanks in particular to electric cars, the latest price rise is premature,” Commerzbank AG said in a note to clients on Wednesday. “After all, supply and availability are very good at present.”
--With assistance from Katia Porzecanski
To contact the reporter on this story: Susanne Barton in New York at swalker33@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Attwood at jattwood3@bloomberg.net, Joe Richter, Steven Frank
©2017 Bloomberg L.P.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
