Nickel prices rose sharply in mid-April in response to sanctions imposed by the US and UK banning the delivery of Russian nickel supplies. The sanctions, which came into effect over the weekend, prohibited the delivery of any new Russian nickel supplies to the global market.

As a result, prices of all nickel chemicals, except Chinese nickel sulphate, saw a brief spike in the aftermath of the sanctions announcement. The sanctions were implemented by the US and UK as part of efforts to restrict Russia's ability to fund its invasion of Ukraine by limiting access to revenue from metal exports.

Russia is a major global producer of nickel, accounting for around 6% of worldwide supply. The disruption to Russian nickel exports due to the new trade restrictions led to concerns about potential supply shortages, causing nickel prices to surge on the London Metal Exchange and other global markets.

The price increase was, however, relatively short-lived, as analysts noted that Russian producers could still sell their nickel to non-US and non-UK markets. This meant there was no immediate, significant tightening of global nickel supply or major trade flow disruptions to Western markets from the sanctions structure.

Overall, the news highlights how geopolitical tensions and trade restrictions can quickly impact commodity prices, in this case leading to a spike in nickel prices globally in the wake of the US and UK sanctions targeting Russian metal exports.