The London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel futures price on January 29 increased by US$99/ton to US$18,369/ton. The spot price also went up significantly by US$100/ton to US$18,147/ton. Meanwhile, LME-monitored inventories continued to increase by 132 tons to 286,470 tons.

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged for the time being but signaled the possibility of further rate cuts, putting pressure on the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, rising ore prices in Indonesia attracted capital inflows, leading to increased trading volumes in China’s nickel market and pushing nickel prices higher. As the market expects the strong momentum to persist, nickel prices may continue to move upward with short-term volatility.