BEIJING- Nickel prices dived by more than 3 percent to three-week lows as concerns over stainless steel demand in China and a round of technical selling pushed the metal down.
Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 3.5 percent to $13,765 a ton, its lowest since Dec. 12, after breaking below its 20-day and 30-day moving averages, sending a “sell” signal to markets.
China’s stainless steel mills that use nickel as a raw material are also scaling back production ahead of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday later this month, Huatai Futures said in a note.
“Downstream, the willingness to buy has fallen significantly,” the Chinese brokerage said.
Shanghai stainless steel prices closed down 2.3 percent at 13,955 yuan ($2,001.15) a ton on Friday. — Reuters
