On April 10, the nickel futures at the London Metal Exchange (LME) soared by US$714 and closed at US$14,798/ton. Meanwhile, the spot price also hiked by US$719/ton to US$14,594/ton. During the same day, the inventory monitored by LME reversed and increased by 768 tons to 203,646 tons.

The US decision to delay tariff implementation by 90 days boosted market sentiment and led to a softer US dollar. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s confirmation of higher nickel ore royalties triggered a rebound in nickel prices. Despite the recovery, nickel inventories remain at high levels. Therefore, it was expected that nickel prices would remain volatile in the short term.