Nickel price
Table of Contents
Nickel price graphs and tabulations
The current nickel price is around €21,10 per kilogram. These are the prices based on 13th of July 2022.
The lowest level of nickel was earlier this year, when it only cost €20,77 per kg.
A month ago, nickel was at its highest price point with a price of €21,69 per kilo.
The price of this raw material is mainly based on supply and demand. When there is more demand, the price goes up. If there is less demand, you will often see a slight decline.
But nickel is a raw material that is usually bought for the long-term investment. A lot of contracts are made for this specific purpose. This is why the increases and declines in the daily pricing are usually small. Often not more than 3 to 10 cents per day, but sometimes it shoots up or down.
How is the price of nickel calculated?
The price of nickel depends on multiple factors. When there is scarcity, you see the prices rise often, like a lot of other metals.
You could say that supply and demand is the largest factor in determining the price. Another factor is the length of a contract and how much you would like to buy. Large buyers usually pay a reduced price.
Nickel is often used to create stainless steel products. This is why there is almost always a demand for the product and production companies do not need to fear that they can’t sell it.
There are metal recycling companies that buy this product as well. If you have old nickel in your home, you can often earn a little bit of money on the side.
Old nickel can be smelted and reused to create stainless steel.
You can see the most current value of nickel in the prices chart up above this item.
Production countries of nickel
Nickel comes mainly from Russia, Canada and Australia. There are about 10 other countries that produce this product.
Throughout the years, big reserves have been built up in the various countries. This is the main reason that nickel stays affordable.
But in 2021, the demand rose exponentially, which makes the value of nickel go up as well. Nowadays there are many different countries that are increasing their production.
Some facts about nickel
Fact 1: Nickel is one of the elements that can be found on our planet the most. It currently is in second place.
Fact 2: You can find nickel in manganese nodule.
Fact 3: The first large-scale spot of nickel was found in 1848 in Norway.
Fact 4: Russia discovered nickel only at the start of the twentieth century, but they are the largest producer in the world.
Fact 5: The atomic number is 28, because this is the amount of protons that can be found in this material.
Fact 6: Nickel can be melted down to create stainless steel or other metals.
Fact 7: Nickel is created through laterite deposits. These deposits arise when intense erosion on surfaces like rocks happens.
Fact 8: It is often used as supporting material in the industry.
Fact 9: Globally, about 65% of nickel is used to develop other metals.
Fact 10: This raw material cannot be missed in aerospace and the army.
History of nickel
Nickel was originally discovered in Syria. They discovered this, because it was used in bronze objects.
The oldest objects found to date, date back to 3500 before Christ. In old Chinese scripture it is mentioned that nickel was used to make glass objects.
The element nickel looks a lot like copper, which is why people have confused it with this other raw material for a long time.
In 1751 this raw material was found in Russia by accident. After heating what is called nickelate, a white/grey powder was created that is now known as nickel.
It’s usage only started in 1860 to create coins for different countries.
Historically, they often missed this material, because they had no name for the material that remained from the copper mines. In these mines there was quartz that did not contain copper and later on we discovered that these were also filled with nickel.
What exchange trades nickel
Nickel is traded at several exchanges, but mostly in Russia and the United States will you find a set price for this. This day-price fluctuates now and then, but this is usually only cents. This year the price has stabilized a little bit more after it rose enormously last year. It has not gotten much cheaper, because you still pay around 20 to 22 euro per kilo.
Nickel and the future
Nickel is a raw material that is used for more applications as the years pass. We expect that this raw material will be produced a lot more in the future. It is one of the cheapest materials that you can create firm and stainless steel with. Next to that, it has been used in aerospace engineering for decades. The last 10 years the activity has gone up so much, that more nickel is needed for this. The reserves are therefore getting smaller globally, but even still the price stays stable.
This is what will happen with the prices in 2022
It is sure that the nickel price will keep rising in 2022, but we can’t say how much. The war between Russia and Ukraine keeps continuing and it gets harsher and harsher. Russia is one of the most important producers of this raw material. Because some countries are not willing to support the war financially, so they boycott the export from Russia, which will eventually hit our own pockets. The rising value of nickel cannot be stopped because of it. But this also happens to other metals. According to the largest metal exchange in London, it is very uneasy these days. They see a lot of changes in pricing and nickel has increased last year a lot, but this year we can’t exclude it from happening again. Stay tuned for the latest updates!
