(Kitco News) The security of supply is becoming a key factor for manufacturers, especially when it comes to battery metal like nickel, according to CRU.
Nickel has been making headlines with its massive rally until very recently. Prices neared $20,000 a tonne at the end of February and then suddenly dropped to trade just over $16,000 in March. Just a couple of years ago, the nickel price was substantially lower, trading near the $12,000-13,000 range.
“Its price performed incredibly well through the second half of 2020 and into the start of 2021 until last week. That price strength was there despite relatively weak fundamentals for the market as a whole.
The market was in a sizeable surplus in 2020, and we expect that it will remain in surplus for the next few years,” CRU principal consultant Alex Laugharne told Kitco News.
The driver behind that rally has also been the metal’s fastest-growing segment of demand — the battery sector. While the battery sector has grown rapidly, most new supply has come in the form of nickel pig iron (NPI), which is only suitable for use in stainless steel.
For the rest of this article: https://www.kitco.com/news/2021-03-17/Why-geopolitics-of-this-green-battery-metal-should-be-on-your-radar-CRU.html