Nickel prices fell on Thursday, with the London contract hitting its lowest level in more than two-and-a-half years, as a lingering oversupply pressured any price rally.
Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 0.6 percent to $16,335 per metric ton, the lowest since April 2021, before rebounding slightly to $16,405, still a 0.2 percent decline.
The most-traded December nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange shed 3.2 percent to 127,790 yuan ($17,721.29) a ton. Earlier in the session, the contract dropped 4.2 percent to 126,440 yuan, the lowest since September 2022.
LME nickel has lost 45 percent and SHFE nickel has shed 37 percent year-to-date, the worst performers across the base metals complex on both exchanges.
The global nickel market had a surplus of 155,000 tons in the first nine months of this year, up from a surplus of 60,500 tons a year ago, data from the International Nickel Study Group showed.
A supply surge from Indonesia has outpaced demand, causing the surplus.
LME copper rose 0.3 percent to $8,382 a ton, aluminum advanced 0.4 percent to $2,226.50, zinc climbed 0.5 percent to $2,508, and lead increased 0.3 percent to $2,227.50. -Reuters
