Nickel, along with copper, rallied over the past week due in part to relatively mild demand from the consumer industries.
According to a report from the Business Standard, traders are accounting for scattered demand from these industries, leading to the rise in both nickel and copper prices.
As discussed in a recent report from our own Raul de Frutos, all industrial metals have enjoyed a rally-intensive 2016 with the exception of one month: January. That was when the same metals hit new lows. So what is to account for this rebound? Is it worth noting or simply a mirage?
“Some metals — such as steel, zinc and tin — have gained significantly while others such as aluminum, copper, nickel and lead haven’t made much progress yet,” de Frutos wrote. “The price rally is not really being driven by supply cuts but by a combination of a weak dollar and the sugar rush of China’s stimulus, initiated late last year. We could be witnessing the end of this five-year-long commodity bear market, however, there is something rotten about this rally.”
Raul added that China’s stock market is the most accurate barometer for its economy and, ever since 2011, its stock market along with its commodity prices, have fallen. So what could appease our worry about this particular metals rally?
De Frutos concluded: “A good start would be China’s stock market rising above April’s levels. Otherwise, metal bulls can only hope for a choppy market.”