Daily Stainless Steel and Nickel Price Update, Molybdenum, Metal Pricing, Ferrochrome

  Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Wrap-up

  • Baltic Dry Index – minus 10 to 1,146  (chart)
  • Dollar trading graph – (chart of dollar index) (live java chart)
  • Indicator charts show nickel opened slightly higher, but fell at the opening, rose as US equity markets opened higher, and then fell again late. For the day, Dow Jones reports three month nickel closed at $7.79/lb , down $25/tonne on the day. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME approved warehouses rose on Wednesday and now total just over 106,350 tonnes.

  Reports

  Commodity/Economic Articles and Comments

  • (Dow Jones) U.S. nickel imports fell 15.3% in March from last month, and was down 21.9% from the previous year, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
  • (Dow Jones) The countdown has started to find a buyer for the commodities brokerage business of Natixis now the French bank has publicly stated the division is for sale.
  • (Chinese media) Jinchang City is located in northwestern Gansu Province at the north foot of the Qilian Mountains and known for its vast land, natural resources, dry climate, and rich sunshine. The city is also the home to China’s largest nickel deposits. Proven reserves of nickel in Jinchang are around 5.5 million tons which is 90% of China’s nickel reserves and the third largest in the world.
  • (Bloomberg) New supply of nickel from current projects and the availability of nickel pig iron, an alternative to the refined metal, should hold prices below $20,000 a metric ton until 2016, according to Paul Dewison, a director at Intierra.
  • The End of the Mining Boom – more
  • Good and Bad in Credit-Card Binge – more
  • China cancels tours to Philippines over South China Sea dispute – more

  Ironworkers locked out – Ironworkers who were locked out of their work site at the Vale nickel processing facility construction site in Long Harbour on Tuesday were told to be back on the job Wednesday, according to business manager for the Ironworkers Local 764, Tom Woodford. – more

  New Legal Challenge Filed Against UP Nickel Mine – A private club in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has filed a federal lawsuit to halt construction of a nickel and copper mine, saying Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. did not obtain necessary federal permits. – more

  Aperam suffers in Q1 as nickel falls – Results from Aperam fell short of consensus in the first quarter, the Luxembourg-based stainless steel maker said on Wednesday, as it suffered from the low cost of nickel, and forecast that profit would remain flat for the next few months. – more

  Morning Briefing (8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)

  • Indicators at 6:55 am CST show 3 month nickel trading unchanged with other London traded base metals mixed, but quiet. Nickel stockpiles rose on Wednesday.  
  • Reuters morning – Copper pressured by weak China data, Eurozone debt – more
  • LME Morning – Metals turn lower, early corrective bounce stalls – more

  Reports

  Ed Meir of INTL FC Stone Daily Metals Commentary

  • Metals fell again on Wednesday, led by copper, which fell to its lowest level in three week. However, just like the decline on Tuesday, prices managed to pick up off their lows, and in copper’s case, reclaim the $8000 mark. Most other markets also lost ground, although the extent of the selloff was not as pronounced as what was seen earlier in the week. The Euro fell for an eighth straight day, closing well below $1.30, but Brent bucked the trend, finishing higher. ….. Metals are mixed right now, erasing earlier losses brought on by disappointing Chinese trade data. In this regard, the government reported that copper imports by China declined for a second month in April, coming in at 375,258 metric tons,19% lower than in March, but still higher than the 262,676 tons from a year ago. Scrap copper imports totaled 370,000 tons in April, compared to 430,000 tons in March. ….. In the broader trade category, Reuters reports that the annual growth rate in Chinese imports during April was just 0.3%, far below an expected 11% increase, while exports were up 4.9% vs. expectations for an 8.55% increase. Exports to emerging economies fell alongside those to Europe, but it is the stall in imports that is more worrying, as it suggests that consumer demand is not picking enough to offset the softness in exports. ….. We don’t have much to add to what we have written in recent commentary and still expect prices to drift lower in the days ahead. Having said that, many complexes, particularly the precious metals group and equities, are getting quite oversold, with RSI’s in the low 30s. Therefore, there is the possibility of some sort of short-covering rally setting in, but we would need to see a headline triggering it. One possibility could be if the PASOK party in Greece him surprises the markets and stitches together a governing coalition. However, we would not want to bank on such an outcome too much, as the more likely scenario is one where the whole process grinds on towards yet another election, meaning more uncertainty for the Euro and the markets at large. ….. Nickel is at $17,211, up $16, but we did get to a low of $17,054 at one point in the day.  (complete report here)

  Commodity/Economic Comments

  • (Yieh) According to data released by the Japan Iron & Steel Federation (JISF), Japan imported 17,971 tons of stainless steel in March, surging by 35.7% from a month earlier and increasing by 20.9% year on year.
  • (Interfax) Chaoyang Haotian Nonferrous Metal Co. Ltd. (Haotian Nonferrous) has signed an agreement with authorities in Liaoning Province’s Beipiao City to invest RMB 2.50 billion ($396.22 million) in expanding refined nickel capacity, the firm’s parent, Jilin HOROC Nonferrous Metal Group (HOROC), said Wednesday.
  • (JSC) In April 2012, Baosteel Stainless produced around 105,000 tonnes of crude stainless steel, decreasing by 5,000 tonnes from a month earlier. It is reported that Chinese Baosteel Stainless has announced to cut the domestic prices of 304 and 430 grade stainless steel coils by CNY 200 to CNY 400 per tonne respectively for May 2012 deliveries, affected by weak market prices in the domestic market.
  • (MW) While in recent years the nickel market has grown at a healthy rate, virtually all of this growth has been taken by nickel pig iron, leaving the main suppliers with what is, in effect, a flat market. In the near term, according to Intierra Resource Intelligence, the nickel industry faces an era of relatively low prices, certainly in relation to the cost of new production. Against this background, the upsurge in production from new projects raises fears that available supply cannot be absorbed by the market.
  • (PR) AK Steel said today that it will increase current spot market base prices for all carbon flat-rolled steel products by $40 per ton, effective immediately with new orders.
  • China foreign trade growth slows in April – more

  Japan SUS Product Exports On Fast Recovery – March 2012 = Up by 20% from February; quick recovery in exports to Taiwan and Thailand = Japan Iron and Steel Federation compiled the Trade Statistics released from the Ministry of Finance into the table as attached hereto with regard to Japan’s exports of stainless steel products during March 2012. – more

  Brighter metals prospects for PNG – A series of significant mineral finds in Papua New Guinea have highlighted the role exports are set to play in the nation’s economic future. – more

  Morning Nickel Inventory and Price Statistics & Figures

  • Today’s almost official prices here  /  Yesterday’s actual LME official prices here or here
  • Shanghai Jinchuan nickel price – available here  
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