London Metal Exchange Nickel Prices, Chinese Stainless Steel Prices

  Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing (8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)

  • Three month nickel closed Wednesday’s trading session at $6.12/lb . Indicators at 7:00 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.15/lb higher, with other London treaded base metals trading higher as well. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME approved warehouses rose to its fifth consecutive all time record high on Wednesday and now total 444,756 tonnes. And yet again, the media claims ‘supply concerns’ account for the sudden rise in nickel prices. And maybe, just maybe, this incessant whine that the world is starting to use more nickel than it produces will come true, but that hasn’t proven true yet since Chicken Little started proclaiming it over a year ago. But hey, even a stopped clock gets it right eventually. The London Metal Exchange is closed on Monday for Early Bank Holiday, and China markets are closed tomorrow for May Day celebrations. Ahead of a long weekend for most, we are seeing traders playing the short term trend and betting prices will be higher when they return from their break. We will see if their gamble pays off. Look to $6.44/lb for strong resistance.
  • Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $5.77/lb
  • Average price of LME traded nickel in 2014 – $7.65/lb / 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb /
  • (USGS) Metal Prices in the United States Through 2010 – pdf here
  • Baltic Dry Index – (current) (chart)
  • Dollar trading graph – (chart of dollar index) (live java chart)
  • Reuters metals morning – Nickel jumps on supply concerns; physical market still damp – more

  Reports

  Commodity/Economic Comments

  • China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
  • Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
  • Gerdau Steel Market Update – more
  • European Debt Crisis Live – more
  • Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
  • Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
  • (SSY) Daily crude steel output at China Iron and Steel Association member mills rose to its highest level since late February at 1.72 Mt in the period 11-20 April, according to data from the industry association reported by SteelFirst. This is up from 1.70 Mt/day in the preceding ten days but compares to 1.75 Mt/day for the same period in 2014.
  • Norilsk press release – pdf here

    Stainless steel business remains sluggish – Global: In line with a softer nickel market over recent weeks, 304 stainless steel scrap prices have slid from US$ 1340-1390 per tonne in late March to US$ 1280-1330 a month later while 316 values have suffered under the influence of molybdenum weakness and have dropped over the same time period from US$ 1800-1850 to US$ 1700-1750. – more

    Indonesia nickel smelters to see slow growth -Macquarie – Indonesia’s ban on nickel ore exports is stimulating investment in processing plants, but this will be a slow process over the next decade, a senior analyst told a conference on Wednesday. – more

    China’s molybdenum mining tax reform on May 1 unlikely to spur surge in exports – China’s molybdenum producers are unlikely to immediately flock back to the export market next month following the roll-out of a new tax regime on May 1, as domestic prices are still higher than international levels, market sources said Wednesday. – more

    New Caledonia President Accused Of Lying About Mine Debt – There has been a sharp rebuke for New Caledonia’s president, Philippe Germain, from his predecessor over alleged concessions for the SMSP mining company, which belongs to the mainly Kanak northern province. – more

    World’s top nickel producer can’t mine enough to satisfy China – The Philippines might fail to satisfy China’s nickel ore demand, which could push up refined metal prices more than 15%  – more

    Nickel miner First Quantum Minerals slashes jobs in Ravensthorpe – A nickel mining company in Western Australia’s south has laid off 31 workers in response to the low price for the mineral. – more

    Vale Earnings Fall to Six-Year Low as China Steel Boom Fades – Vale SA earnings excluding items slumped to the lowest since 2009, in line with estimates, as the world’s largest iron-ore producer faces shrinking Chinese steel demand. – more

    Vale’s Production Volumes of Mn Ore, FA, Ni and Co in Jan-Mar = When compared with year-earlier period, Mn ore, Ni and Co are up and FA is down = On April 22, Vale S. A., a major resource company in Brazil announced its production volumes of manganese ore, ferroalloys, nickel and cobalt in the period from January to March in 2015. – more

  Morning Nickel Price Statistics & Figures

  • Today’s almost official prices here  /  Yesterday’s actual LME official prices here or here
  • Shanghai Jinchuan nickel price – available here or here (updated)
  • India MCX Nickel Price – more  more
  • 100 Years of Stainless Steel Video – online here
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