This story is now a few days old but for anyone who has been following nickel, there was no indication that things could tighten up in the short term. Yet here we are staring at a spike in prices.

Let's hope something similar happens with copper.

Speculators move in as nickel price soars

A perfect storm of protectionism, speculation, geopolitical confrontation and industrial problems could conspire to increase the price of cutlery and other everyday uses of stainless steel.

Nickel, the metal which plays a crucial part in many industrial applications, as an alloy in stainless steel and many consumer products from kitchenware to mobile phones hit $18,634 per tonne yesterday as hedge funds and other international investors gamed a commodity whose price some believe will hit $25,000 per tonne.

“What we are seeing is speculation on top of a physical shortage,” said Marc Elliott, natural resources analyst at Investec, the broker...

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/naturalresources/article4084765.ece