VIDEO - Nickel Price Skyrockets, EV Demand for Copper to Rise

As the dog days of summer continued on in August, the nickel price found itself skyrocketing on both optimism and speculation.

Meanwhile, experts laid out predictions regarding the future of copper consumption with relation to the growing electric vehicle (EV) market.

For more on the news that affected the base metals sector last month, watch the video above or read the transcript below.

As mentioned, one commodity that trended way, way up in August was nickel. The metal had been on a hot streak since early July, and on August 16, it peaked for the month at US$16,080 per tonne.

Experts attributed the growth to two major factors, with one being optimism surrounding the EV market.

They also pointed to speculation regarding a potentially bumped up nickel ore export ban in Indonesia. Originally docketed for 2022, reports surfaced last month that the world’s largest producer of the commodity might push the ban to 2020 to force miners to process ore within the country.

(Editor’s note: Indonesia ultimately did move the date of its nickel ore export ban forward on Monday (September 2). Click here for details).

In copper news, a new report from Wood Mackenzie estimates that consumption of the red metal is set to rise over 250 percent by 2030. The prediction comes with the anticipated implementation of 20 million EV charging points by that time.

As for company news, Venturex Resources (ASX:VXR,OTC Pink:VTEXF) received a AU$100 million boost from Trafigura to help develop its Sulphur Springs project in Australia. With a debt facility set to last four years, Venturex intends to repay Trafigura with copper and zinc concentrate produced at the project.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Olivia Da Silva, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.