Nickel is a commodity that, for the past decade, has traded between $10,000 and $20,000 per ton. On a typical day, nickel price moves by a couple of hundred dollars.

In early March 2022, nickel prices went crazy. They rose by 66% on 7 March to $48,000 per ton. When the market opened the following day, price soared a further $30,000 in a matter of minutes and even reached $100,000.

With respect to the 2022 nickel price spike, which of the following statements are true? Select as many answers as you think are true.

a. The sudden rise in nickel price was partly attributable to a short aqueeze on traders who had entered large short positions in nickel. These short sellers had to pay inflated prices to buy nickel and close out their short sales.

b. Nickel prices rose after Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia is the third largest nickel producer in the world, yet buyers were forced to look elsewhere to source their nickel.

c. Short sellers had taken huge short positions in nickel because they believed nickel price would fall in 2022.

d. Traders who had made short bets on falling nickel price faced enormous margin calls when nickel price spiked.