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By Bloomberg

Nickel fell from a six-week high as industrial metals dropped on the London Metal Exchange from gains posted last week in response to China’s interest-rate cut.

Nickel fell as much as 1.2 percent after closing on Nov. 21 at the highest price since Oct. 9. Inventories of the metal tracked by the LME climbed to a record 394,770 metric tons on Nov. 21, according to bourse data. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its 2015 price forecast by 20 percent last week, citing sustained production in China of nickel pig iron, a lower-grade alternative. The country is the biggest consumer of nickel.

“We’re a bit skeptical when people say the market will go into a deficit,” said David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, referring to the supply of refined nickel. “With China slowing, is that going to happen?”

Nickel for delivery in three months on the LME declined $72 to $16,553 a ton at 3:27 p.m. in Hong Kong. The metal rose 1.7 percent to close at $16,625 on Nov. 21.

An index of the six main metals traded on the LME jumped to the highest since Sept. 19 on Nov. 21 after the People’s Bank of China reduced interest rates for the first time since 2012. All main metals on the exchange fell today.

“China’s surprise rate cut might provide some initial support to commodities,” analysts including Natalie Rampono at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. wrote in a note today. “But weak domestic demand and tight credit conditions will likely continue to weigh on sentiment.”

Copper in London slid 0.3 percent to $6,702 a ton. BHP Billiton Ltd., operator of the world’s largest copper mine in Chile, said today it is looking at options to raise output as it forecasts a deficit from 2018.

In New York, copper for March was unchanged at $3.029 a pound, while the metal for January delivery in Shanghai advanced 0.5 percent to close at 47,800 yuan ($7,791) a ton.

On the LME, aluminum, zinc, lead and tin all fell.