Commodities Comment-Nickel:darkest before the dawn?

Feature article

    Nickel prices plunged below $12,000/t for the first time in six years yesterday.Large fresh shorts were placed in the new Shanghai Futures Exchangecontract following the decision by the SHFE to allow Russian nickel to bedelivered to SHFE warehouses, thereby unwinding the recent short squeeze.Paradoxically, the recent price fall comes as fundamentals are starting toimprove significantly.