Nickel prices have soared to all -time highs in tandem with trade in other commodities affected by Russia’s attack on Ukraine thus threatening a global shift to electric vehicles.
For the first time in its 145 -year history, the London Metal Exchange had to suspend nickel trading on Tuesday after prices doubled in just a few hours to $ 100,000 per metric tonne.
However, the price of the metal later dropped back to around $ 80,000 per metric ton but it still far exceeded the previous record of $ 52,000 reached in 2007.
The metal is a key component in lithium-ion batteries used in EVs (electric vehicles) and is one of the few commodities that has soared since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Russia is the third largest supplier of nickel in the world after Indonesia and the Philippines, making up about 13% of global mining capacity by 2021.
Analysts say that the drastic surge in commodity prices has caused unrest in financial markets and exchanges as traders speculated about the impact of the conflict in Ukraine.
Rising nickel prices are said to make it difficult for carmakers that have previously struggled with supply chain disruptions, factory closures and a shortage of semiconductor chips due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
