Governments around the world, especially in the emerging countries, are beginning to worry about inflation and currency devaluation and nothing could be better news for the value of globally-traded nickel. Turkey and India have taken emergency measures to increase rates and here in the US the Fed has announced the beginning of the end of its bond-buying program later this year.

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The nickel 3-month price saw the biggest upwards shift for the day, rising 1.0 percent on the LME to close at $16,160 per metric ton on Tuesday, March 25. On the LME, the spot price of nickel rose 0.9 percent to $16,130 per metric ton. After a 0.6 percent increase, the cash price of primary Indian nickel finished the day at INR 987.00 ($16.26) per kilogram.

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Chinese stainless steel prices were mixed for the day. For the fifth consecutive day, the price of Chinese ferro-chrome held flat at CNY 8,300 ($1,339) per metric ton. The price of Chinese ferro-moly continues hovering around CNY 145,000 ($23,400) per metric ton for the fifth day in a row.

The price of Chinese primary nickel gained 0.4 percent to finish at CNY 102,900 ($16,606) per metric ton. The price of Chinese 316 stainless coil held steady at CNY 26,000 ($4,196) per metric ton. The price of Chinese 304 stainless coil remained essentially flat at CNY 16,400 ($2,647) per metric ton. For the fifth day in a row, the price of Chinese 316 stainless steel scrap remained essentially flat at CNY 16,100 ($2,598) per metric ton. The price of Chinese 304 stainless steel scrap continues hovering around CNY 16,400 ($2,647) per metric ton for the fifth day in a row.