Boom possible: Demand for electric vehicles bodes well for nickel … and for Greater Sudbury – by Darren MacDonald (Sudbury Northern Life – July 23, 2019)

https://www.sudbury.com/

Car companies ramping up EV battery production across the globe

While nickel analysts expect the price of nickel to dip again despite the impressive gains it has made in recent weeks, demand for the metal is bright thanks to the increasing demand for electric vehicles.

Nickel was trading at US $6.40 on Monday afternoon on the London Metals Exchange (LME), down from last week’s high of US $6.85, but still up more than 20 per cent in the last two weeks.

Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst Vivek Dhar told the Financial Review that the reasons some have given for the recent surge – falling LME stockpiles and an impending export ban in Indonesia – are not new revelations, and are factors traders have known for a long time.

“That’s what’s got all of us scratching our heads,” Dhar said in the article. “It’s not like LME stockpiles have just fallen in July. They’ve been heading down for a while, so why would you see an acceleration in price like just now? “In terms of how sustainable is it, we’re very bullish over the long run but in terms of the rise since the beginning of July, it’s come out of nowhere.”

The reason many are bullish on prices long-term is the expected demand for nickel for EVs, a key component in electric batteries. Right now, two-thirds of the world’s nickel is used for stainless steel production, and three per cent for batteries.

For the rest of this article: https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/demand-for-electric-vehicles-bodes-well-for-nickel-and-for-greater-sudbury-1599309