10 April 2025 – LME Nickel prices have reacted with a significant rise following the suspension of reciprocal US tariffs for 90 days. Do LME nickel stocks now need to be reinterpreted? Stock markets in rebound: Second end of the world also cancelled?
LME nickel prices jump up by more than 4,5%
Nickel prices on the LME have reacted to the 90-day suspension of reciprocal US tariffs yesterday (Tuesday) with a rise of more than 4,5%.
LME nickel with even more upside potential?
As is well known, the suspension of tariffs only affects a limited number of countries. The People’s Republic of China is explicitly excluded from the suspension.
According to the LME Country of Origin Report of 28th February 2025, there are currently 35,286 metric tonnes (MT) of Russian nickel in the LME’s warehouses, which has been subject to sanctions in many Western countries. At the end of February, the LME also had 88,662 MT of nickel of Chinese origin in stock, which will now be affected by US tariffs of 125%.
This means that the effective LME nickel inventory that can still be sold to the United States will fall from 176,592 MT to just 52,644 MT. What this means has probably not yet been fully realised and thought through.
Stock markets in rebound: second end of the world also cancelled?
The news that reciprocal US tariffs on at least 75 countries are to be suspended for 90 days to allow for negotiations has caused a huge jump on the stock markets. The US stock market rally was led by the NASDAQ (+12.2%), followed by the S&P 500 (+9.5%) and the Dow Jones Index (+7.9%). Asian stock markets such as the Nikkei 225 (+8.9%) and the KOSPI (+6.6%) also jumped significantly, followed on Thursday morning by the leading European indices. The German share index DAX was well up at the start of trading, rising by more than 8% or over 1,400 points.
The Chinese stock markets also rose, but the announcement that the reciprocal tariffs for China would remain in place and be increased to 125% meant that they also rose, but not as significantly as many other share indices.
Designated German Chancellor causes astonishment
The statement by the possible new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), who said in an interview with the television channel RTL that the suspension of US tariffs was due to a reaction by the Europeans to resolutely defend themselves against these tariffs, caused some astonishment.
This does not fit in at all with current events and this movement on the part of the Trump administration is probably due to the hopefully serious willingness of 75 countries to negotiate and not to an allegedly strong response from the European Union.
Germany in the reality distortion field?
Perhaps Germany would be well advised in the current situation to hold back with such statements and mind its own business. In Steve Jobs’ environment, such behaviour was referred to as a reality distortion field. The difference is that with Steve Jobs this usually led to positive results.
Mr Merz’s willingness to negotiate should now be swiftly put into practice. However, his proposal for a zero-to-zero tariff policy between the United States and the European Union had long been rejected by the US side at the time of the interview.
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