LONDON--Nickel traded on the London Metal Exchange rose Wednesday to its highest price in three months on the back of ongoing concerns about supply from Indonesia.
LME 3-month nickel hit its highest price since Oct. 23, at $14,790 per metric tonne, as an export ban in Indonesia that was enforced Jan. 12 threatens to limit global supply.
"Certainly, nickel seems to be playing on the concerns out of Indonesia, but I think the ban has to be relaxed over time so I think there will be exports made," said Robin Bhar, metals analyst at Societe Generale.
"China is pretty well-stocked with ore so I don't see any scope for further increases in price. If the bans stays 100% in place next year--which is unlikely--I'd get a bit more bullish."
Other metals held mixed ranges, with aluminum edging 0.1% lower to $1,796 a tonne, while zinc was flat at $2,089 a tonne. Lead rose 0.3% to $2,219.25 a tonne, while thinly-traded tin fell 0.6% to $22,040 a tonne.
Copper fell as investors continued to digest some downbeat economic growth data from top metals consumer China released earlier in the week. LME 3-month copper fell 0.4% to $7,312 a tonne.
The National Bureau of Statistics in China reported 619,000 tons of refined copper were produced in China in December, 5.4% down from the record figure the previous month.
The Chinese New Year festival, which will be celebrated next week, is likely to see economic activity dip temporarily, which should be reflected in correspondingly reduced production and lower imports, said analysts at Commerzbank in a note to clients. China accounts for 40% of global annual consumption of copper.
"If the copper prices continues to stall, we could see other base metals follow," said Mr. Bhar at Societe Generale.
While there is a "general improvement in sentiment" regarding the health of the global economy at the moment, "China is slowing so that won't produce much of an upside to copper," he said.
