, Columnist
Can You Spare a Nickel, Mr. Duterte?
Duterte could close two-thirds of the nation's mines. That's just what the beaten-down metal needed.
This article is for subscribers only.
Nickel has been the worst performer of the London Metal Exchange's six major metals over the past year. The key ingredient in stainless steel, which topped $50,000 a metric ton in 2007, has barely risen above $10,000 in eight months.
Between 60 percent and 70 percent of producers are losing money at current prices, Ivan Glasenberg, chief executive of the fourth-biggest producer, Glencore, told an investor call in December.