Industrial metals rose on Monday, with nickel prices surging more than 10 percent, as escalating conflict in Ukraine and mounting sanctions on Russia threatened to disrupt supply.
Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange jumped 17 percent to $33,820 a ton, after hitting a peak since March 2008 at $34,120.
The most-traded April nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange surged 11.4 percent to 209,910 yuan ($33,191.03) a ton. Prices touched record high of 210,650 yuan earlier in the session.
Benchmark aluminum on the LME rose to a record $4,000 a ton earlier and was last up 2.1 percent at $3,930.
Russia produces about 6 percent of the world’s aluminum, 7 percent of global nickel and accounts for about 3.5 percent of copper supplies.
Sanctions on Russian individuals and corporates have prompted many banks, shippers and other firms to stop working with Russian companies or goods.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to press ahead with his invasion unless Kyiv surrendered.
