BEIJING, Nov 3 (Reuters) - London nickel prices renewed their advance on Friday, putting the metal on course for a gain of nearly 10 percent this week and 27 percent year-to-date on expectations of bullish demand from the electric vehicle (EV) battery sector.
Three-month London Metal Exchange nickel has climbed by over $1,100 a tonne since Monday, marking its biggest two-day jump in more than three years on Tuesday and Wednesday on positive sentiment about the EV growth story at the LME Week meeting in London, before slipping back 1.4 percent on Thursday.
"While we agree that the potential is significant, we suspect the market has jumped the gun and a short-term pullback could be in order," ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes wrote in a note on Friday.
"In saying that, it will just be a consolidation as the market is likely to remain tight even before the demand growth from the EV sector kicks in," he added. Hynes estimated that demand for nickel from EV batteries could rise fivefold by 2025.
FUNDAMENTALS
LME NICKEL: London Metal Exchange three-month nickel CMNI3 was up 0.7 percent at $12,690 a tonne by 0446 GMT. The contract hit its highest in more than two years at $13,030 a tonne on Wednesday.
BHP: Global miner BHP (BHP) said that its Australian Nickel West operations, which it is retooling to meet battery sector demand, are for sale at the right price.
SHFE NICKEL: The most-traded nickel contract SNIcv1 on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (Shfe) recovered from a dip in early trade to climb 0.4 percent to 101,410 yuan ($15,323.36) a tonne, following its highest close since June 2015 on Thursday.
COPPER: Copper CMCU3 was trading up 0.4 percent in London after ending the previous session little changed, and gained 0.7 percent in Shanghai SCFcv1.
ALUMINIUM: Aluminium in London CMAL3 was up 0.1 percent, with looming production curbs on Chinese smelters likely to come back into focus next week. Shanghai aluminium SAFcv1 was also up 0.1 percent.
ZINC/LEAD: Zinc CMZN3 was down 0.1 percent in London and gained 0.3 percent in Shanghai SZNcv1, while lead CMPB3 climbed 0.5 percent on the LME but slipped 0.1 percent on the Shfe SPBcv1.
ALUMINIUM DEMAND: Global demand for rolled aluminium products is expected to remain strong next year thanks largely to the automotive sector, leading producer Novelis said on Thursday.
PRIVATE EQUITY: North American institutional investors are raising their exposure to metals and mining partly through co-investments with private equity, industry sources at a mining conference said this week.
SOVEREIGN RISK: Kazakh miner Kaz Minerals said the government of Kyrgyzstan had suspended operations at its Bozymchak gold and copper mine on Thursday for three months.
TANZANIA: Acacia Mining's top two executives have resigned in the midst of talks between its parent company and the Tanzanian government aimed at ending a long-running dispute that has hit Acacia's operations.
MARKETS: Asian shares took a breather on Friday as investors gave a guarded reception to Republican plans for massive U.S. tax cuts, while welcoming the appointment of a centrist at the helm of the Federal Reserve.
USD/US JOBS: The dollar held steady versus a basket of currencies on Friday, as focus shifted to U.S. jobs data.
0444 GMT
Three month LME copper CMCU3 6953.5
Most active ShFE copper SCFcv1 54480
Three month LME aluminium CMAL3 2175.5
Most active ShFE aluminium SAFcv1 16265
Three month LME zinc CMZN3 3255
Most active ShFE zinc SZNcv1 26015
Three month LME lead CMPB3 2458
Most active ShFE lead SPBcv1 18675
Three month LME nickel CMNI3 12690
Most active ShFE nickel SNIcv1 101410
Three month LME tin CMSN3 19605
Most active ShFE tin SSNcv1 144210
LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc3 736.4
LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc3 -514.99
LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc3 478.86
LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc3 -879.4
LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc3 1956.09
($1 = 6.6180 Chinese yuan)