– The 100% move in Nickel prices in the last 2 days had a volatility of more than 42 standard deviations, which is almost an impossible event. For reference, a Black Swan event has 6 standard deviations move.
– Supply disruption fears have gripped the markets amid an escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict.
– Russia is one of the world’s biggest suppliers of Nickel and accounts for around 7% of global production
– Global inventories of nickel were already low, adding to price spikes which have seen prices rally about 20% since the onset of 2022. Hence, we are witnessing a cascading impact.
– More than 70% of the global supply of nickel goes into making stainless steel. But in recent years, its use in batteries for electric vehicles has really gained momentum. At present, about 7% of the supply goes to battery makers.