The LME nickel official price was up at US$14,150 per tonne on Thursday, topping a 2018 peak set on Wednesday of $14,135/t. The price is now up at levels not seen since June 2015.

Nickel has risen 12% since the start of the year, with recent gains linked to higher than expected inflation in the US.

Its close ally lead had a good day too, with the LME official price coming in at $2,610/t. This is the third day in a row the price has gone higher.

The copper official price was some $100/t off Wednesday's intraday high, but still comfortably above the $7,000/t level.

Cobalt reached a new 2018 high on Thursday. Its $82,000/t official price means the in-demand metal is up 8.6% for the year.

Despite these rises, the three biggest miners by market capitalisation - BHP (AU:BHP), Rio Tinto (LN:RIO) and Glencore (LN:GLEN) - all posted less than 1% gains for the day.

In the precious metals space, gold had a positive 24 hours as investors continued to rush to the save haven following a weaker US dollar.

The yellow metal gained $4 per ounce to reach $1,358.19/oz at 8am UK time.