cont'd"NICKEL BOUNCENickel prices jumped after global miner BHP...

cont'd
"NICKEL BOUNCE

Nickel prices jumped after global miner BHP Billiton (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) said it would close a 100,000 tonne-per-year nickel operation for four months for repairs.

BHP estimated the shutdown of the operations in Western Australia would reduce its nickel sales by 28,000 tonnes, cutting world nickel supplies by almost 2 percent. [ID:nSYD320383]

"It is literally wiping out most of the surplus for this year," analyst Max Layton at Macquarie Bank said."