Daily Nickel/Stainless Wrap-up

  • Official LME nickel closing prices – cash – $12.59/lb 3 month buyer – $12.66/lb (6.3% higher than 12/31/07) (chart)
  • Baltic Dry Index – minus 62 to 7319. (chart)
  • LME nickel inventories – plus 288 tonnes into Rotterdam, Netherlands warehouse, minus 138 tonnes from Rotterdam warehouse
  • All metals, base and precious, traded in the green today. Nickel spent pre-trading fairly tame, with little price change. But at the first ring, trading went north, until a sell off, occurring between the second and third ring, cooled things down. By the third ring, momentum returned and 3 month nickel shot up by nearly $700/tonne, only to retreat some at the 4th ring. Kerb trading was unusually quiet. For the day, three month nickel ended at $12.79/lb ($28,200/tonne)
  • Closing Metals Report – more
  • Forbes – more

  Copyright/courtesy Dow Jones – “Base metal prices seen flat or falling in the short term, but for copper, lead, tin and aluminum, continued strong demand growth from the Middle East, China, and other Asian countries will fuel a recovery in prices before year end, says Investec Asset Management. Says delays to new supply and disruption to existing supply will also support a price recovery. But says at a time when rapid supply increases have been forecast, weaker demand growth from the developed world will spark concerns over large surpluses……Commodity demand growth will remain stronger than expected in the short-term because development in Asia and infrastructure spending generally will remain high, even if consumer spending slows in the US, says Investec Asset Management. Over the longer term, commodity prices will continue to move upwards, Investec notes, with high average rates of demand growth. Demand will be driven by the development and urbanization of China and India, while the renewal of old infrastructure in the West and new investment in infrastructure for alternative energy will provide a boost, Investec adds….”

  (offers new details) Brazilian mining giant Vale reached its first iron ore price deal for 2008 in Europe with German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp, which managed to secure a smaller price increase for high-quality ore than Japanese and South Korean steel mills. – more

   Taiwan’s Investment Commission said Tuesday it gave its final approval to US$130 million worth of China-bound investments by Formosa Plastics Group and Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASX). – more

  Korean steel giant POSCO said Tuesday that it has signed a deal with a major U.S. mineral developer to explore a central Nevada mine, considered to have one of the world’s largest deposits of molybdenum, a key raw material for high-end steel products. – more

  Australia’s Senior Trade Commissioner Rod Morehouse said Monday that Australian firms were prepared to invest more than US$4 billion in Indonesia’s mining industry. – more

  Courtesy ROS Business Consulting – “If United Company RUSAL merges with Norilsk Nickel, the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service intends to request the establishment of a metal exchange, head of the antitrust agency’s industry control department Alexei Ulyanov told journalists today. While Ulyanov stated that the stock exchange was to be created within a year from the possible close of the deal, he did not say whether the antitrust watchdog would give the green light to the merger.”

  Morning Briefing (8:00 AM CST is 2 PM in London)

  • Indications at 7:50 am CST show 3 month nickel selling up by $.10/lb . Tropical Depression Nicholas has skirted the coast of western Australia and local miners are breathing a sigh of relief (more here).
  • Bloomberg – more
  • Globe and Mail – more
  • Forbes – more

  Haywood Security Metals & Mining – pdf here

  Behre Dolbear Global Mining News – pdf here

  Rand Merchant Bank Base Metals Weekly – pdf here

  The price of cars, refrigerators and buildings will rise this year after steelmakers agreed a dramatic increase in the price of their raw materials. – more

  According to the customs-statistics released in China, the total quantity of nickel ore imported into China in the calendar year ( January – December ) of 2007 came to 15,626,175 tons on material base, which had a remarkable increase of about 4.1 times compared with that ( 3,788,228 tons ) in the preceding year of 2006. – more

  Chinese media quotes representative with Tang Eng Iron Works Co., Ltd, as stating stainless steel demand in Taiwan was “not too good, but stabile, and rising slowly”.

  The massive 65 percent price rise in iron ore agreed between Japanese and Korean steelmakers and leading Brazilian iron ore supplier Vale could set a 2008 benchmark for Chinese firms. – more

  French battery maker SAFT has hedged part of its nickel needs at prices up to $35,000 per tonne until the middle of this year but stands ready to raise prices for end-users if needed. – more

  Eskom’s plan to buy an additional 45 million tonnes of coal to replenish depleted stockpiles has been met with incredulity internationally, with analysts saying it overlooks severe global coal supply constraints, logistical challenges and price concerns. – more

  China’s race to build roads, railways and airports speeds ahead. Democracy, says an official, would sacrifice efficiency – more

  There are more health concerns coming out the Port of Esperance on WA’s south coast, this time possibly relating to nickel. – more

  Whereas work of installation of the pipe of Goro Nickel is in hand, six fishing vessels blocked a part of the building site, yesterday, in Nouville. – translated version here

  Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world’s second-largest nickel producer, said its $3.2 billion Goro project on the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia will start initial operations by mid-year. – more

  Beginning LME nickel inventory / Overnight Shanghai closing price

  •   London Metal Exchange – plus 150 tons = 47,190 tonnes (2.09% – 984 tonnes cancelled warrants/ 46,206 net stock level) (charts)
  •   Shanghai Jinchuan nickel – 239500-250000 RMB/t, plus 1000  (charts)