Shanghai Nickel gains

Melbourne/Sydney :Steel-dependent metal nickel posted early gains on Tuesday in both Shanghai and London markets in step with a stronger showing in Chinese steel futures.
Nickel is chiefly used in making stainless steel. The most-traded nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was up 1.3 percent at 94,710 yuan ($14,285) a tonne by 0126 GMT.
Traders said the metal was finding support from stronger ShFE rebar futures , which were up more than 1 percent for the second day running. Three-month nickel on the London Metal Exchange was also slightly firmer at $11,677 a tonne, extending gains from the previous session.
Global miner Rio Tinto Plc restarted the smelter at its large Kennecott mine in the United States last Friday after a nearly six-week outage but force majeure on refined copper has not yet been lifted, a company spokesman said on Monday.