Nickel Prices Fall in the First Half of 2023: What's the Future Outlook?

Nickel is a mined mineral used in the production of stainless steel, metal casting, and electric vehicle batteries.

However, despite its widespread industrial applications, global nickel prices declined throughout the first half of 2023.

According to World Bank data, in June 2023, the average price of nickel with a minimum purity of 99.8% on the London Metal Exchange (LME) reached USD 21,233 per ton.

This price was down 3.4% compared to May 2023 (month-on-month/mom), down 24.7% compared to January 2023 (year-to-date/ytd), and down 17.2% compared to a year ago (year-on-year/yoy).

The average nickel price in June 2023 was also the lowest since the beginning of the year, as shown in the graph above.

Previously, last year, nickel prices surged due to the geopolitical conflict in Europe.

"The nickel market was heavily impacted by the Russia-Ukraine war. Russia accounts for 6 percent of global nickel supply and 20 percent of high-quality nickel for global battery production," said the World Bank in its April 2023 Commodity Markets Outlook report.

"Russian nickel mining giant Nornickel caused supply disruptions following sanctions imposed on Russia by various countries. In 2022, the average nickel price rose by about 50 percent compared to 2021," it continued.

The World Bank estimated the average nickel price in 2022 to reach USD 28,000 per ton.

However, in 2023, the average price is predicted to fall to USD 22,000 per ton, and weaken further to USD 21,000 per ton in 2024.

"Weaker demand growth and competition from non-nickel batteries pose a risk of long-term price declines," said the World Bank.