The big fraud and its impactThis +$ 500 million fraud is entertaining. Similar to Bre-X in a sense with its non existent gold.
However, is it a positive or negative for the nickel price ? From what I understand, that non existent nickel was financed by Trafigura and banks so that crook could hold it and sell it. Sound like a margin loan by a broker guaranteed by worthless shares. However, some $ 100 million of that stuff was sold by Trafigura to third parties. So the impact should be positive as it will have to be replaced.
But, more importantly, it chips away at the trust in the system. So we could expect an accelleration to the deals between industrial users and producers. And this should results on higher nickel prices everything being equal.
GLTA