Nickel will average 6 percent higher in the fourth quarter than previously forecast after a strike at Vale SA and increased imports by China, according to CPM Group.

Nickel for immediate delivery will average $15,015 a metric ton in the final three months this year, up from a previous forecast of $14,155 a ton, CPM analyst Catherine Virga said by phone from New York today.

Vale workers in Sudbury, Ontario, began picketing the company's sites on July 13 after voting against a proposed contract. The company had through such an agreement sought concessions on pensions, bonuses and seniority benefits, according to Wayne Fraser, a director at the United Steelworkers union. China's imports of unwrought nickel and alloys climbed for a third month in June, customs data showed.

CPM also raised its copper, lead, aluminum and zinc forecasts and lowered its estimate for tin, Virga said.