Old and new: nickel will stay strong in both traditional and innovative industries

摘要

Commodity prices are notoriously hard to predict. A few months back, there was talk of a nickel squeeze as consumers of this material were caught between rising demand from China and increased scarcity as a result of Indonesia's ban on exports. In the spring and early summer, the nickel price jumped as the effects of the ban took hold. Now, after the world economy has sputtered and Europe's poor performance is once again in the news, the price has given back most of its gains. After peaking at 9.50 USD/lb, it had sunk to 6.92 by 6 November, and may well go back down to 6.S0, its level of 1 January, the day when the ban came into effect. If Indonesia were ever to lift its ban, the world could be flooded with an over-supply of nickel.