the bottomline is that it's always about supply and demand.

At balance we will hold our present price shift one or the other and you go up or down. Simple stuff really. Now factor in a period of stagnation or even a depression. There goes demand and toss in some extra production as all the up and coming mining comes on line and you get more LME surplus.

Where do we see the economy going is the question now. Nickel prices, as well as most commodities, trail along with that one major driving force....the economy.

Until then :)