Nickel Price

How the nickel price has moved across key timeframes. Change is calculated from the opening price of each period to the current price.

Nickel is a versatile industrial metal that plays a dual role in the global economy: it is the essential ingredient in stainless steel (which accounts for the majority of demand) and an increasingly important material in lithium-ion battery cathodes for electric vehicles. This dual demand profile — traditional industrial use plus energy transition growth — makes nickel one of the most closely watched base metals.

Nickel was first isolated as a pure element in 1751 by Swedish chemist Axel Fredrik Cronstedt, though nickel-bearing ores had been used in alloys for centuries. Its industrial importance grew rapidly in the late 19th century with the development of nickel steel for armour plating and corrosion-resistant applications. The discovery of the massive Sudbury Basin deposit in Ontario, Canada in 1883 transformed global supply. The invention of stainless steel (an alloy of iron, chromium, and nickel) in the early 1900s became the defining demand driver. The LME began trading nickel in 1979. In March 2022, a historic short squeeze drove LME nickel prices above $100,000/tonne briefly, forcing the exchange to halt trading and cancel trades — an unprecedented event that damaged the LME's credibility as a nickel pricing venue.

Stainless steel production accounts for approximately 70% of global nickel demand. Stainless steel is used in kitchen equipment, building cladding, industrial tanks, medical instruments, and infrastructure. The battery sector (~15% and growing) uses nickel in NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) and NCA (nickel-cobalt-aluminium) cathode chemistries for EVs and energy storage. Higher-nickel cathodes (NMC 811, NMC 9.5.5) increase energy density, driving demand per vehicle higher. Nickel-based superalloys (~5%) are critical for jet engine turbine blades, gas turbines, and aerospace components where extreme heat resistance is required. Other uses include electroplating, specialty alloys, and catalysts.

Global nickel mine production is approximately 3.3 million tonnes annually. Indonesia has emerged as the overwhelmingly dominant producer, now supplying roughly 50% of world output following a massive expansion of nickel pig iron (NPI) and high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) processing capacity. The Philippines is the second-largest miner. Russia (Norilsk Nickel), New Caledonia, Australia, and Canada are historically important producers but now represent a smaller share. The rapid Indonesian expansion, driven largely by Chinese investment, has fundamentally reshaped the global nickel market and put downward pressure on prices since 2023.

Nickel prices have historically been set on the London Metal Exchange (LME), though the LME's authority was damaged by the 2022 short squeeze crisis. The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) has grown in importance. Key price drivers include Chinese stainless steel production volumes, Indonesian nickel output and export policy (ore export bans have been a recurring tool), EV battery demand growth, LME and SHFE warehouse inventories, the Class 1 vs Class 2 nickel distinction (battery-grade vs ferronickel/NPI), and speculative positioning. The massive Indonesian supply overhang has been a dominant bearish factor since 2023.

Investors can gain nickel exposure through LME nickel futures (lots of 6 tonnes, quoted in USD per tonne), nickel-focused or broad industrial metal ETFs, and shares in nickel mining companies such as Vale, BHP, Norilsk Nickel, and Indonesian producers. The distinction between Class 1 (refined, battery-grade) and Class 2 (ferronickel, NPI) nickel is important — the LME contract specifies Class 1 delivery, which trades at a premium to the lower-grade material that dominates Indonesian output.