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Friday, August 29
US markets are closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. Our next update will be on Tuesday. Have a safe and relaxing weekend.
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Thursday’s trading session at $8.48/lb . Indicators at 6:40 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.05/lb lower but recovering at the moment, with other London traded base metals trading mostly higher. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME approved warehouses rose yet again on Thursday and warehouses reported 329,136 tonnes to end the month. That’s again of 13,338 tonnes for August 2014. That compares to a gain of 9,042 tonnes in August 2013, and a monthly gain of 3,996 tonnes in August 2012. Technically, the trend over the last three days of trading has been weak, but over the last 24 hours of trading, we have seen a triple bottom, which nickel is now bouncing off of. We put strong support at $7.84/lb and resistance at $8.55/lb. Geopolitical tensions are back in the headlines, with a new Russian incursion into Ukraine. In the short term, the reaction on metals has been limited. In the long term, this could offer further support to nickel, since many fear that new sanctions against Russia could include nickel imports from Russia, or Putin could limit exports of nickel from his country in a counter reaction to new sanctions. You had no idea that stainless steel could be so complicated, did you? Have we mentioned how electricity shortages in South Africa affect ferrochrome, and eventually, your stainless? That’s more of a summer problem for them, and its winter there, so we will save that for a later date. Enjoy your weekend. Monday starts a new week and a new month.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.43/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Aluminum Set for Record Run of Monthly Gains as Supplies Shrink – more
Reuters metals morning – LME copper steadies; eyes biggest monthly drop since March on Ukraine – more
Reports
Scotiabank Commodity Price Index – pdf here
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index –
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
China may lose position as copper price driver – more
Commodities trading the latest move by Shanghai to talk up free trade zone – more
Hudson Bay trip a highlight of latest Ice Road Truckers season – more
Goldman Sachs sees nickel price rally continuing into 2015 – US investment bank Goldman Sachs said the refined nickel market has shifted from a major surplus in 2013 to a much smaller surplus in 2014, according to a research note Thursday, adding that prices are likely to continue to rally into 2015. – more
Base metals roundup: Zinc and nickel poised to move dramatically higher in 2015 – Scotiabank commodities specialist Patricia Mohr says a cyclical recovery in zinc and nickel is underway, leading to dramatically higher prices in 2015. (See below for information about specific zinc and nickel stocks). – more
BIR Stainless Steel World Mirror August 2014 – Global: The following article is based on the latest Stainless Steel & Special Alloys World Mirror produced by the BIR world recycling organisation for the benefit of its members. – more
Nickel gains mass production – One third of global, produce of Nickel disappeared in just a few days. Nickel prices rose so suddenly, when the investor’s hoped a sudden decline. Even so, Chinese Nickel Pig Iron (NPI) has been stocking the metal.- more
Zimbabwe: BNC Seeks National Project Status Nod – Bindura Nickel Corporation has approached Government with a request for its smelter restart project to be granted national project status. – more
Bindura Nickel to restart smelter, refinery – Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) says the setting-up of a smelter is imminent as the mining firm is now in advanced talks with government to attain permission for the restart of the plant. – 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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Thursday, August 28
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Wednesday’s trading session at $8.56/lb . Indicators at 6:40 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.04/lb lower, with other London traded base metals trading mixed and quieter. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licenses warehouses rose to another record high on Wednesday, and now totals 326,922 tonnes. Our persistent teasing about the ‘chicken little’ ‘doom and gloom’ forecasts of nickel shortages in the face of constantly rising and record breaking stockpiles, appears to be gaining company from a few of the metals analysts themselves these days. We have been wanting to publish some numbers, and now that a few experts are confirming that our suspicions aren’t completely daft, here is what we came up with for your consideration, obtained from SMM and LME past statistics. SMM reports that China’s pig iron production, during the month of July 2014, was equivalent to 36,000 tonnes of nickel, compared to 34,000 tonnes during the same month last year. So China produced more nickel from laterite ore in July of this year, than last, when there was no ban on ore exports from China’s number one supplier, Indonesia. With none coming in from Indonesia these days, one might expect the stockpiles of nickel ore in China to be dropping quickly. In fact, according to the SMM website, nickel ore inventories at the five major ports rose from 14.14 million tonnes, reported on June 30th of this year, to 14.72 million tonnes on August 1st. What? How is this possible? And while this was going on in China, LME stockpiles rose from 305,256 on July 1st to 317,628 tonnes, as reported on August 1st. Buckle up people – shortages are a’ coming ….. someday. Wish more of the experts would start talking about the cyclical nature of supply and demand for commodities and in particular, nickel. Everyone wants to talk about Indonesia’s ban on nickel ore and its potential effect on pig nickel production, but we don’t hear anyone talking about all the new nickel mines that have started producing over the last few years. They were called ‘mega mines’ when we didn’t have 300,000+ tonnes of nickel sitting around. Now that we do, it’s like they don’t exist. We don’t hear names like Ravensthorpe, Goro, Ramu, or Ambatovy, unless they break down, or the natives get restless. These mines weren’t producing nickel a few years ago and one might think, they still don’t, with as much as they are mentioned by the experts these days. Will the Indonesia ban have an effect? In our opinion, yes, eventually. Will it produce the serious shortages that some are predicting? Very doubtful. It’s called boom and bust and right now, we are in a boom time for production of nickel, compliments of 2007 when we were in a bust (using more nickel than we could produce) – and while the Indonesia ore ban is throwing a cog into the wheel, it is by no means, shutting down the boom times yet. Heck, even the Fenix mine in Guatemala started producing nickel this year. Fenix! They haven’t produced nickel there in 30 years. So while we expect the Indonesia ore ban to have an effect someday, and this is the slow period for stainless steel production in China, much of what we are hearing is being said to pump up the price, and traders love a could scare to trade on.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.43/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Aluminum Advances for Fourth Day as LME Stockpiles Drop – more
Reports
US Imports of Stainless Steel Mill Products – more
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index – 85.01
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
(MP) Nickel market gloomy in China, buying sporadic
Iron ore price at almost two-year low – more
(SSY) The Chinese domestic price for hot rolled band fell by $7/t at the end of August to $445/t, its lowest price since early November 2009, the latest World Steel Dynamics€™ Steelbenchmarker shows. The Western European HRB price also declined sharply, falling $8/t to $568/t, while the US price was down $3/t at $746/t.
Scotiabank foresees dramatic rise in Zinc and Nickel prices – As per the latest analyst report from Scotiabank, the cyclical recovery in base metal sector is likely to result in dramatic rise in zinc and nickel prices over the next two years. – more
Who Is Getting Rich From Nickel’s Wild Ride? – “It is a curious situation,” says Stephen Briggs, BNP Paribas’ wise man of metals, from his perch observing the London Metals Exchange. – more
US judge rules LME out of case as ‘organ’ of British government – A judge has dismissed London Metal Exchange as a defendant from US antitrust litigation accusing banks and commodity companies of conspiring to drive up aluminium prices by restricting supply, hurting manufacturers and purchasers. – more
Dominican Republic lawmakers back park in area where Canadian company seeks to mine – Lawmakers in the Dominican Republic approved a plan Wednesday to create a national park in an area where a Canadian company has sought to expand mining operations. – more
U.S. needs more domestic mining – To get an idea of how dependent America is on imported minerals and metals for modern technology, I pointed out nearly a year ago how important rare-earth elements were to our country and noted that we were 100 percent dependent on imports with China controlling 96 percent of the world market. – 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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Wednesday, August 27
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Tuesday’s trading session at $8.59/lb . Indicators at 6:40 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.07/lb lower, with other London traded base metals trading mixed and quietly. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses rose to anther record high on Tuesday and now total 326,446 tonnes. Nickel continues to trade rangebound, up yesterday, and back down today. Nothing in the headlines this morning to give the market a nudge, although a lower Euro is adding negative pressure.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.43/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Nickel Retreats in London as Strengthening Dollar Curbs Demand – more
Reuters metals morning – Aluminium hits 18-month peak, metals lifted on EU stimulus hopes – more
Reports
September US Stainless Steel Surcharges – more
AIIS Statement on July 2014 Steel Imports – pdf here
Reuters Metals Insider – pdf here
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index – 85.00
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
(AM) Chinese refined nickel and nickel alloy imports up by 57.34% MOM in July
(Yieh) According to data released by China Customs, the country’s imports of high carbon ferrochrome totaled 137,531 tons in July, increasing by 24.6% year on year.
(SSY) China’s daily crude steel output rose to 2.335 Mt in the period 11-20 August, according to data from the China Iron and Steel Association reported by CUsteel. This is up from 2.325 Mt in the preceding 10 days and compares with 2.118 Mt for the same period in 2013.
Chinese puzzle: steel output up but coal supply down – more
Citrine Predicts Nickel, Zinc Deficits – Commodities hedge fund Citrine Capital Management hopes to profit from a shortage of nickel and zinc next year. – more
Glencore, Chinese in talks for Nickel West – Two front-runners have emerged in the contest for Nickel West, with vendor BHP Billiton in advanced talks with China’s largest nickel refiner Jinchuan Group and commodities trading giant Glencore.- more
Making the most out of metal – Founded well before recycling was a concept, Italy’s Metal Group has grown to be one the leading players in the recovery and re-use of scrap metal. – more
Talks urged ahead of New Caledonia summit – The new French High Commissioner to New Caledonia says there should be discussions in the territory before the signatories of the Noumea Accord meet in Paris in October. – 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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Tuesday, August 26
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Friday’s trading session at $8.50/lb . Indicators at 6:40 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.05/lb higher, with other London traded base metals trading mostly higher, but fading. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licenses warehouses rose to another record high over the weekend, and now total 326,220 tonnes. One year ago today, stockpiles in LME warehouses totaled 210,060 tonnes. Last weeks break outside the high side of the trading triangle has yet to do anything to the market except potentially add a sliding support level. The technical signal was positive, but a new rally has yet to take place, and momentum is fading. The market has traded sideways so long, that the 10, 30 and 100 day moving averages are within $100/tonne of one another and on course to merge.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.42/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Aluminum Advances a Second Day Before U.S. Durable Goods – more
Reuters metals morning – -Copper climbs to three-week high on EU stimulus hopes – more
Reports
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
Various India Commodity Reports – more
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index -84.97
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
(SSY) Chinese imports of bauxite, alumina, steel scrap, fertilizer and wood pulp, together with nickel, manganese, copper and chromium ores, totalled 14.4 Mt in July, the highest total since January 2014 when Indonesia introduced a ban on the export of unprocessed mineral ores. Bauxite imports from India were 0.9 Mt in July, the highest since July 2013, although total bauxite imports were still around half the level they were a year ago. Nickel ore imports from the Philippines also had a strong month, rising 27% year-on-year to 5.0 Mt.
(SSY) Of the 82.5 Mt or iron ore imported into China in July some 50.4 Mt of iron ore was shipped from Australia, up 33% year-on-year and an all-time high, according to data from China Customs. Cargoes from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Mauritania combined also increased sharply, rising 33% to 2.8 Mt. Imports from Brazil and South Africa rose slightly, to 14.1 Mt and 4.3 Mt, up 7% and 3%, respectively, while those from Canada dropped by 24% to 0.9 Mt.
(AM) Chinese nickel ore/concentrate imports up by 38.65% MOM in July
(AM) China’s exports of stainless steel up by 12.6% m-o-m in July
Macquarie forecasts nickel to reach $25,000/tonne in 2015
Iron Ore Risks Extending Drop to Lowest Since 2009 – more
Big miners cause iron ore plunge – more
El Nino Seen Delayed to End of Year as Australia Stays on Watch – more
Little change in the tropical Pacific Ocean – more
Taiwan’s Fastener Export to the US Grows Sharply – more
Hedge fund Citrine Picks Nickel as Best Base Metal Wager – Zinc and nickel will probably lead advances in base metals next year as global demand outstrips production, according to Paul Crone, chief investment officer at Citrine Capital Management LLC. Futures climbed. – more
Twin Metals announces lay-offs – Ely-based Twin Metals Minnesota announced Monday they will trim their workforce by 16 positions. – more
Courtesy AISI – In the week ending August 23, 2014, domestic raw steel production was 1,932,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 80.3 percent. Production was 1,858,000 net tons in the week ending August 23, 2013, while the capability utilization then was 77.6 percent. The current week production represents a 4.0 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. Production for the week ending August 23, 2014 is up 0.7 percent from the previous week ending August 16, 2014 when production was 1,919,000 net tons and the rate of capability utilization was 79.8 percent.
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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Monday, August 25
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Thursday’s trading session at $8.56/lb . The London Metal Exchange is closed today for England’s Summer Bank Holiday. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses rose to another record high Friday, totaling 325,788 tonnes on Thursday. Nickel did very little on Friday, as traders prepared for an extended weekend.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.42/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Reports
Oryx Stainless The Back Door“ Monitoring – pdf here
China Nickel Imports and Exports Data July 2014 – more
Reuters Metals Insider – pdf here
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index –
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
(SMM) Nickel ore inventories at China’s five major ports totaled 14.91 million tonnes last week, down 290,000 tonnes on a weekly basis, Shanghai Metals Market data shows.
(smh) The global nickel market had a 1800 tonne surplus in June in contrast to a 3300 tonne deficit the month earlier.
(MF) Baosteel Stainless hikes stainless HRC prices for September
Iron ore price slips nearer to $US90 a tonne threshold – more
Rising nickel stocks keep bull story under wraps: Andy Home – For a market supposedly facing an imminent and dramatic supply shortfall, there sure is a lot of nickel around. – more
Emissions from Russia’s nickel industry increases – Sulphur dioxide pollution significantly up from Kola GMK’s smelters in Nikel and Monchegorsk. Norwegians measure more heavy metals in freshwater fish near the border. – more
North American Stainless Press Release – Effective with shipments October 1, 2014, North American Stainless will increase prices for Cold Roll grades in 200, 300, and 430 series. This will be achieved by reducing the functional discount by 2% points and the applicable polish discounts by 10% for Standard # 4 finish and 20% for Appliance finish.
LME Ni Inventory Exceeds 320,000 Tons and Still Increases = Currently 324,984 tons, and increasing trend in designated warehouses in Asian region continues = LME nickel inventory made a record of 324,984 tons at the time of trade closing on August 15 (= at the time of trade opening on August 18), and updated an all-time high record. – more
Higher nickel prices boost Western Areas profit – Improved nickel prices have resulted in ASX-listed Western Areas reporting a significant increase in sales revenue and profit for the 2014 financial year ended June, compared with the 2013 financial year. – more
China’s crude steel output to reach 830 million tonnes in 2014 – CISA – Mr Wang Xiaoqi vice chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association said that in the first seven months of the current year China’s average daily crude steel output exceeded 2.2 million tonnes and so China’s overall crude steel output in the current year is expected to reach 830 million tonnes. – more
Nunavik mine site turbine ready to catch wind – The construction of Nunavik’s newest and possibly tallest structure is complete — a hulking 120-metre (393 foot) high wind turbine, with blades extending 40 metres from the turbine’s centre. – 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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Thursday, August 21
We will be traveling on Friday and our next update will be Monday morning. Have a safe and relaxing weekend.
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Wednesday’s trading session at $8.60/lb . Indicators at 6:40 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.03/lb lower, with other London traded base metals trading lower as well. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME approved warehouses fell on Wednesday and now total just over the 324700 tonne level. It is worth noting this is the first 3 day stretch where a new record high has not been set since min July, when we began setting all time record highs nearly every day. Yesterday, we mentioned the technical triangle that was forming. Later in the day, nickel rose above and closed outside that triangle. This morning, trading has so far been choppy, with the triangle appearing to act as support. This could mean one of two things. Either the technical signal is actually working and a second close above could mean higher prices in the days ahead. Or, traders are trying to keep nickel above the triangle more out of desperation, than reality. We have seen this happen before during this bull market and it tends to cost the bulls some profits when it fails. So once again, the market gives us the would of, could of, should of scenario that makes trading a gamble. And once again, buyers of nickel grow ulcers. We are on the road tomorrow, so our next update will be on Monday.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.41/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Aluminum Falls From 18-Month High After China PMI Data – more
Reuters metals morning – Copper, aluminium down on sluggish China, Europe business activity – more
Reports
Worldsteel Monthly Statistics for July 2014 – pdf here
Reuters Metals Insider – pdf here
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index – 84.97
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
Increase in import duty on China – more
The Overnight Report: The Fed Confounds – more
U.S. Fastener Trade in H1 2014 Shows Dual Growth – more
Molybdenum production and use fall slightly – Global use of molybdenum in the first quarter of 2014 decreased to 136.1 million pounds, down 2% from 138.2 million pounds in the previous quarter but 7% higher than the same quarter in 2013, figures released today by the International Molybdenum Association (IMOA) show. – more
China’s Trade of Molybdenum in Jan-Jun 2014 = As compared with year-earlier period, export is up by 92% and import is up by 77%= According to the calculation to figure out volumes in pure Mo equivalent based on China’s customs statistics, the export volume in the period from January to June in 2014 was 8.8909 million lbs (up by 91.7% from the year-earlier period) and the import volume was 9.8738 million lbs (up by 68.8% ditto). – more
Snub adds to Nickel West stress – The decision to leave Nickel West out of BHP Billiton’s second-tier asset spin-off makes it even more critical for the business to secure offtake deals with Western Areas or Sirius Resources, according to Deutsche Bank analysts. – more
China says Australian tycoon’s attack ‘irrational and absurd’ – China’s foreign ministry has condemned a verbal attack by Australian mining mogul and politician Clive Palmer as irrational and absurd, after the businessman described China’s government as “bastards” who shoot their own people. – 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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Wednesday, August 20
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Tuesday’s trading session at $8.46/lb . Indicators at 6:50 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.10/lb higher, with other London traded base metals trading higher as well. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses rose on Tuesday, and now totals just over the 324,800 tonne level, shy of a new record. Three month nickel is trading above the 10 and 100 day moving averages again, negating yesterday’s negative signal. We are also seeing some evidence of a trading triangle forming, with recent trading highs and lows gradually growing tighter. For traders and consumers alike, a triangle can potentially mean a major move up or down, depending on which side of the triangle the market moves. Right now, today’s trading is staying within the triangle and testing the high side. Triangles are common in rangebound markets, and like any other technical signal, it can potentially mean a lot – or little, depending on the mood of the market. And while some like Norilsk Nickel would like us all to believe nickel is trading too cheap, the market is nervous about when the deficit in the nickel market will actually happen.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.40/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Dollar Strengthens Before Fed Minutes as Metals Advance – more
Reuters metals morning – Copper rises on robust U.S. housing data, China buying – more
Reports
July 2014 crude steel production – more
Reuters Metals Insider – pdf here
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index – 84.96
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
(SSY) According to data from the China Iron and Steel Association, reported by Reuters, Chinese daily crude steel output for 1-10 August 2014 was 2.325 Mt, up from 2.269 Mt in the last 10 days of July.
China Port Seen as Economic Barometer Plans Cargo Record – more
No production cut by large steelmakers in China – CISA – According to data from the China Iron and Steel Association, daily crude steel output from China’s large steel mills rebounded 3.6% in the first 10 days of August to 1.812 million tonnes adding to concerns about oversupply. – more
China Molybdenum looks for more overseas mining acquisitions – China Molybdenum, the mainland’s biggest producer of the metal, is seeking more acquisitions after the success of its US$820 million purchase of a Rio Tinto Group copper mine in Australia. – more
Glencore Starts $1 Billion Buyback as CEO Says Boom Isn’t Over – Glencore Plc’s billionaire Chief Executive Officer, Ivan Glasenberg, underscored his belief in the longevity of the global commodities boom by beating his biggest rivals in handing out surplus cash to investors. – more
Reliance on cost-cutting the real BHP story: Clyde Russell – BHP Billiton’s plans to spin-off unwanted assets may have received a tepid welcome from investors, but the real news from the mining giant’s results is the limits to cost-cutting. – more
BHP Billiton to create a new company to simplify operations – more
Nickel West left out in the cold – more
Potential buyers for BHP’s Nickel West – 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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Tuesday, August 19
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Monday’s trading session at $8.39/lb . Indicators at 6:40 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.05/lb higher, with other London traded base metals trading higher as well. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME approved warehouses fell for only the the third time this month, and now total just over the 325,650 tonne level. Three month nickel closed below its 100 day moving average yesterday for the first time since February, and is trading below that level today. This could potentially send the market a negative signal, as the 10, 30 and 100 day moving averages look too potentially merge in the near future. The short term trend remains sideways for now, while the long term trend remains positive.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.40/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Copper Climbs a Third Day Before Data From U.S., China – more
Reuters metals morning – Copper steady as U.S. economic health offsets China concerns – more
Reports
Infographic: Getting to Know Nickel – more
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index –
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
(SSY) US industrial production rose by 5.0% year-on-year in July 2014, according to data from the US Federal Reserve. This is the largest increase since April 2012.
(SSY) Year-on-year GDP growth in the Eurozone and the EU in the 2q14 as a whole both slowed by 0.2 percentage points from the annual growth rate of the 1q, to 0.7% and 1.2%, respectively, according to data from Eurostat.
CWT Commodities considers legal action amid Qingdao port probe – more
Anixter International Leadership Selling Stock – more
Chart of the day: Prepare for a pullback in mainland metals and mining stocks – Asian equity markets have all but closed the sentiment gap with mainland stocks over the past month, suggesting stiffening headwinds in coming weeks after weeks of strong capital inflows. – more
WTO Rules China’s Export Restriction on Mo, W & Rare Earth as Violation = Removal of export duty from 2015 becomes more likely = On August 7, the WTO Appellate Body released its report that it ruled the export restriction on molybdenum, tungsten and rare earths implemented by China as violation. – more
BHP Discards Poised to Become Mining’s Biggest Spinoff – BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) announced what’s poised to be the biggest spinoff in the mining industry, separating aluminum, coal and silver assets to create a company valued at about $15 billion after it begins trading next year. – more
BHP Billiton lifts annual profit to $US13.83 billion, confirms spin-off – BHP Billiton has posted a strong lift in annual profit, at it announced the spin-off of its nickel and manganese assets to focus on iron ore, petroleum, copper and coal. – more
Courtesy AISI – In the week ending August 16, 2014, domestic raw steel production was 1,919,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 79.8 percent. Production was 1,858,000 net tons in the week ending August 16, 2013, while the capability utilization then was 77.6 percent. The current week production represents a 3.3 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. Production for the week ending August 16, 2014 is up 1.2 percent from the previous week ending August 9, 2014 when production was 1,896,000 net tons and the rate of capability utilization was 78.8 percent.
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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Monday, August 18
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Friday’s trading session at $8.47/lb . Indicators at 6:40 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.06/lb lower, with other London traded base metals tradng mostly lower as well. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses rose to another all time record high on Friday, and now total 324,984 tonnes. Stockpiles have set records on every businss day this month so far, less two. SMM reports nickel ore stockpiles at five major ports rose over the last week. Nickel continues to trade rangebound, as it has all month. For all practical purposes, nickel has traded mostly between $8.34/lb and $8.57/lb since the end of July.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.41/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Zinc Rebounds From 5-Week Low as Recent Declines Seen Excessive – more
Reuters metals morning – London copper steadies, eyes next wave of China data – more
Reports
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index – 84.89
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
(SMM) Inbound shipments of nickel ore to the Port of Guangdong were 255,000 tonnes, valued 190 million yuan, during the first six months of 2014, down 91.2% from a year ago, China Customs Statistics reported.
(SMM) Nickel ore inventories at China’s five major ports increased to 15.20 million tonnes last week, up by 200,000 tonnes, Shanghai Metals Market data showed.
Standard Bank writes off US$80m for Qingdao metal financing exposure – more
Metal prices to continue to decline near-term – Commerzbank – Over the past few days, base metal prices have declined somewhat and according to Barbara Lambrecht, analyst at Commerzbank, this correction looks set to continue in the near term, even though the trend of supply and demand argues for higher prices. – more
BHP set to jettison assets as miner sharpens focus – BHP Billiton is set to unwind what’s left of its 2001 merger with South Africa’s Billiton on Tuesday, bundling the remaining assets into a new company to be handed to shareholders so it can focus on its core businesses. – more
BHP Billiton sets scene for mining disposals as commodity boom ends – more
Top Myths About Stainless Steel – Stainless steel is a family of engineering materials that is widely used in industry. – 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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Friday, August 15
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones reports three month nickel closed Thursday’s trading session at $8.44/lb . Indicators at 6:30 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.04/lb higher, with other London traded base metals trading slightly higher as well. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses continue to break records on a daily basis, and after a nearly 2000 tonne gain on Thursday, your new all time record high is 322,728 tonnes. European GDP numbers were horrible yesterday, showing no improvement during the last quarter. In typical fashion, bad economic news might just be so bad that its good for the markets, as more stimulus measures will now be discussed. Stimulus measures, while doing little to improve the overall economic picture, have successfully enriched those savvy enough, and wealthy enough, to play the markets. US economic reports today should prove more favorable, and while traders were disappointed in Chinese GDP numbers earlier this week, their 9% growth rate is the envy of the world. Nickel stockpiles continue to grow, as nickel miners push as much nickel into the market as they can, taking advantage of higher prices. The market remains in a surplus situation but traders continue to bet on the coning deficit market. When will it arrive – weeks, months, years? Or will it ever truly materialize? That is the bet keeping the nickel market jumping these days. Have a safe and restful weekend!
Average price of cash nickel so far this month -$8.41/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Copper Drives Metals Higher on Speculation of Stimulus – more
Reuters metals morning – London copper near 7-week lows; economic clouds gather – more
Reports
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index – 84.89
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
Euro zone posts zero GDP growth – more
El Nino’s Delay Spurs Memories of 2012 When It Never Came – more
BHP Eyes Split From Billiton Assets in Mine Spinoff Plan – BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) may announce a spinoff of assets estimated to be worth as much as $12 billion next week, as the world’s biggest mining company casts aside operations acquired in the 2001 purchase of Billiton Plc. – more
No Easy Decisions for BHP’s Nickel Business – more
China taps Singapore in push to boost pricing power in metals – Chinese metals traders have opened offices and hired top talent in Singapore over the past year, aiming to capture opportunities created by the exit of a string of Western banks from the global commodities trading business. – more
Public will see benefits of mining law, says Bougainville Admin. – The Chief Administrator in the Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville says once the public are informed about a new mining law, they will see the protections it offers. – 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 or here (updated)
India MCX Nickel Price – more more
100 Years of Stainless Steel Video – online here
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply reports and information free of charge.Contact us
Thursday, August 14
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Wednesday’s trading session at $8.47/lb . Indicators at 6:40 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.03/lb higher, with other London traded base metals trading mixed. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses broke yet another record on Wednesday and now totals 320,754 tonnes. Nickel is finding support on news that newly elected President Widodo announced he had no plans to overturn the nickel ore export ban to Japanese official yesterday. Nickel once again runs the risk of dropping below its 100 moving day average today, but if recent history carries forward, then if the traded price does fall below the line, we can expect a sharp bounce to follow. If no such bounce happens, we could see a negative signal carry into trading. And while we have seen two trading house give short term nickel a bearish signal, we feel no such signal is present yet, and that short term nickel trend remains sideways and signals remain neutral.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.41/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Nickel Gains on China Stimulus Speculation, Indonesia Ore Ban – more
Reuters metals morning – Copper slips to 7-week lows as European economies stumble – more
Reports
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index –
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
(SSY) China’s crude steel production fell to a 5-month low of 68.3 Mt in July 2013, although it was still up 1.0 Mt year-on-year, according to official statistics. Chinese crude steel production for the year to July totalled 480.3 Mt, up 13.6 Mt year-on-year.
Indonesia’s ore exports ban stays under Widodo – Indonesia’s ban on ore exports will remain in place under the next government as the curbs spur as much as US$18 billion in investment in processing plants by 2017, according to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. – more
Zimbabwe: Bindura Nickel Corporation – Is There Still More Runway? – Missing a stock that grows at double digits in three months can be annoying. But snoozing while a company doubles in price can leave you distraught. Nothing, though, compares to Bindura Nickel Corporation’s 400 percent jump. Not in a year, but in only three months. – more
National message for PolyMet delivered – The PolyMet copper/nickel/precious metals project near Hoyt Lakes got some positive national attention last weekend. – 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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Wednesday, August 13
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Tuesday’s trading session at $8.53/lb . Indicators at 6:40 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading flat and little changed, with other London traded base metals trading mostly lower, but quietly as well. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses rose to another record high yesterday, with the total now at 320,448 tonnes. Cancelled warrants slipped below 29% today for the first time since October of last year. Note the articles below about the meeting between Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Indonesia’s President-Elect Joko Widodo. Among numerous topics discussed, the mineral ore ban came up and President Widodo did not appear to leave the door open for change anytime soon. Nickel traded strongly yesterday, rising against the headwind of a lower Euro. And considering the news from China, that credit has fallen in that country to levels not seen since the recession ended, it is holding up well. The short term trend for nickel remains sideways.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.41/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Copper, Zinc Retreat as China’s Credit Gauge Plunges – more
Reuters metals morning – LME copper sinks to lowest since June; China property drags – more
Reports
SMC Global Monthly Report on Base Metals – more
Reuters Metals Insider – pdf here
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index –
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
China says July steel output drops 1.4 pct on month – more
NFIB Small Business Economic Trends, August 2014 – more
China’s July industrial output up 9% – more
Indonesia Holding Firm on Ore Ban Amid More Investments – Indonesia’s ban on ore exports will remain in place under the next government as the curbs spur as much as $18 billion in investment in processing plants by 2017, said the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. – more
Russia’s stainless steel imports increased by 2.4% – According to Spetsstal’s expert appraisal, the volume of Russian imports of the main types of stainless steel products in the first half of 2014, if compared with the equal period of 2013, increased by 2.4% and amounted to 124.2 thousand tons. – more
The share of Ukraine accounted 66.7% of the total volume of Russian exports of stainless steel – According to experts of the SPETSSTAL Association, in the period from January to June 2014, the volume of Russian exports of the main types of stainless steel products, compared with the same period of the previous year, decreased by 65.9% and amounted to 4839 tons. – more
Glencore posts solid growth in copper; nickel, zinc output dip – Mining company Glencore posted a 13 percent increase in first-half copper output, in line with market forecasts and boosted by growth at its African and South American mines but its zinc and nickel production dipped. – more
Japan’s Kishida approaches Jokowi on ore export ban – Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met with president-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo during a brief visit to Jakarta on Tuesday to call for a review of the country’s mineral export ban, which has hit the Japanese smelting industry hard. – more
Jokowi Asks for Japan’s Help on Infrastructure Projects – President-Elect Joko Widodo asked Japan to help Indonesia develop its maritime sector and other infrastructure projects, following a meeting with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida at City Hall on Tuesday. – more
Indonesian nickel ban resonates globally – Indonesia’s ban on nickel ore exports is resonating globally as prices climb to the highest since 2012, prompting companies from Avebury Nickel Mines Ltd. to Poseidon Nickel Ltd. to restart operations at idled mines. – more
The Thames Barrier: Stainless Steel performs after more than 30 years – Case Study Release: The Thames Barrier stands guard astride the river in a location which is classified as ‘corrosive’ because temperature and humidity levels are sufficient to activate salt deposits on a regular basis. – 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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Tuesday, August 12
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Monday’s trading session at $8.46/lb . Indicators at 6:35 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.14/lb higher, with other London traded base metals trading higher as well. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME approved warehouses set a new record high on Monday and now total 319,590 tonnes. While trading higher today, technical charts reveal 3 month nickel’s 10 day moving average is in jeopardy of slipping below its 100 moving day average for the first time since February. If it happens, this will send a negative signal to the market, although the uncertainty surrounding the fundamental picture down the line, will keep the market propped up. Stochastic numbers show nickel is moving out of over bought territory, although just barely, while RSI numbers hover around the 50 reading. Momentum and directional movement are sending no signals. Interesting to see what happens to BHP’s Nickel West mine in the coming months. WIth the price of nickel up, and some analysts saying this will last for some time, you would think a good producing nickel mine with excellent infrastructure up for sale would generate a lot of interest. And according to a Reuters report last Tuesday, BHP’s Nickel West mine was generating some interest. But on Friday, Business News Australia was reporting BHP may shut the mine down due to lacklustre bidding. Glencore withdrew from the bidding process last month. By the way, the fifth largest producer of nickel in the world would like to make you a deal – as it apparently has so much faith in the future of nickel – that it is selling off its nickel division, including Nickel West in Australia, and the Cerro Matoso mine and refinery in Colombia. Apparently Avebury Nickel Mines Ltd. and Poseidon Nickel Ltd. have more faith int eh future of nickel prices, and both have announced their intention to re-open mothballed nickel mines.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.35/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Base Metals Climb on Optimism Geopolitical Tensions Ease – more
Reuters metals morning – Copper near 6-week lows due partly to improving supply – more
Reports
AME Market View – more
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index –
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
(Bloomberg) [Nickel]Prices are still too low given the market is set to shift to a deficit and the metal should trade at $20,000 to $25,000 so unprofitable producers break even, according to Anton Berlin, head of strategic marketing at Moscow-based Norilsk.
(MEPS) MEPS predicts global stainless steel output to hit 40.2 million ton in 2014, up 5.7% YOY
2014 US Fastener Export Rate Nears Import Gains – more
El Nino Signs Re-Emerge as Weakening Trade Winds Warm Pacific – more
El Niño still a possibility for 2014 – more
Sucden Nickel Analysis and Forecast Q3 2014 – Nickel prices stormed ahead at the start of the year in reaction to Indonesia implementing its ban on ore exports. – more
Nickel’s 56% Rally Spurs Mine Restarts Amid Ore Ban – Indonesia’s ban on nickel ore exports is resonating globally as prices climb to the highest since 2012, prompting companies from Avebury Nickel Mines Ltd. to Poseidon Nickel Ltd. to restart operations at idled mines. – more
Probe call over New Caledonia nickel deal – New Caledonia’s president, Cynthia Ligeard, has called for inquiry into last April’s deal between the southern province and two major nickel companies to explore a huge ore deposit. – more
Allegations fly in New Caledonia over nickel deal – audio here
MCC roll out their favourite cheerleader to apologize – Kurumbukari landowners in the Bundi district of Madang have apologized to Ramu NiCo Management for the mob attack on KBK Mine last Monday. – more
Courtesy AISI – In the week ending August 9, 2014, domestic raw steel production was 1,896,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 78.8 percent. Production was 1,858,000 net tons in the week ending August 9, 2013, while the capability utilization then was 77.6 percent. The current week production represents a 2.0 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. Production for the week ending August 9, 2014 is down 0.3 percent from the previous week ending August 2, 2014 when production was 1,901,000 net tons and the rate of capability utilization was 79.0 percent.
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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Monday, August 11
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Friday’s trading session at $8.41/lb . Indicators at 6:40 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.01/lb higher, with other London traded base metals trading higher, but quietly as well. Stockpiles of nickel store in LME licensed warehouse fell slightly on Friday and ended the week at 318,750 tonnes. This is only the second recorded drop this month, with all other trading sessions seeing new all time record highs set. Geopolitics – with little economic news out today, the markets are watching political tensions around the world warily. Russia ended military exercises near the Ukrainian border. In Iraq, US jets have begun to bomb ISIS forces and drop supplies to besieged refugees, while in Baghdad, Prime Minister Maliki is refusing to step down and is now using the military to help him keep his power. Libya and Syria are imploding. Nickel mines are, or have in the last few weeks, faced protests in Guatemala, Dominica Republic, Papau New Guinea, New Caledonia, and the Philippines. But cheer up. It’s only Monday.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.38/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Aluminum Advances to Two-Week High as Stockpiles Shrink – more
Reuters metals morning – Copper gains on easing Ukraine tensions, China outlook – more
Reports
Damstahl Stainless Steel Report – August 2014 – pdf here
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index – 84.87
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
EU Renews Tariffs on Stainless Steel Screws from Taiwan – more
Indonesia ban on nickel ore, bauxite exports to stay – officials – Indonesia has no plans to wind back a seven-month old ban on exports of unprocessed nickel ore and bauxite that has led to billions of dollars in planned investments in smelters, top government officials said. – more
China’s Production of Stainless Crude Steel in H1 10.687 Mil. Tons = Up by 21% from year-earlier period and production of Ni-type makes all-time high on quarterly basis = Stainless Steel Council of China Special Steel Enterprises Association announces China’s production of stainless crude steel in the first half (January – June) of 2014 was 10.687 million tons, up by 21.2% from the year-earlier period. – more
Tata Steel closes Bamnipal plan – Tata Steel has shut down its 50,000 tonnes per annum ferroalloys plant at Bamnipal in Keonjhar district of Odisha due to unavailability of raw material. – more
Five arrested over attack at PNG’s Ramu nickel mine – Papua New Guinea police have arrested five men in connection with the raid and destruction of properties last week at the Ramu Nickel’s Kurumbukari mine site in Madang. – more
Production At Ramu Nickel Mine Restarts After Attack – The Chinese-owned Ramu nickel mine in Papua New Guinea has resumed production three days after an attack by armed villagers forced work to a halt. – more
Residents protest water – Hundreds of residents from Harapan and Pasi-Pasi villages in East Luwu regency, South Sulawesi, have staged a protest against nickel mining company PT Vale Indonesia for allegedly polluting the Lampia Sea with an oil spill. – more
New Caledonia probes new Vale incident – Reports from New Caledonia say an investigation has been opened after an incident at the Vale nickel plant. – more
Workers oppose mine closure – Thousands of mine workers staged a protest caravan here during the weekend to press their demand to re-open four mining companies ordered closed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), organizers said on Sunday. – more
China’s steel industry burdened by overcapacity, workers baulk at shutting plants – The mainland’s chronically oversupplied steel sector will take years to restore balance in the demand-supply equation, and this will come about from bankruptcies of privately owned firms, amid weak demand and prices, tighter pollution controls and stringent credit conditions. – 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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Friday, August 8
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Thursday’s trading session at $8.56/lb . Indicators at 6:40 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.06/lb lower, with other London traded base metals trading mostly lower as well. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses rose to yet another all time record high yesterday and now total 318,798 tonnes. According to Shanghai Metals Market, stockpiles of nickel ore in that country rose as well over the last week, up 280,000 tonnes to 15 million tonnes. Norilsk is reportedly telling those who will listen, that nickel prices are currently too low and that the industry will face a serious deficit sometime mid next year. Apparently the record breaking growth in world stockpiles has pushed the inevitable forecasted shortage down the road a tad. The Sydney Morning Herald reported last Friday, that sources close to Norilsk Nickel stated that the company has begun to move some of their foreign exchange currency away from the US Dollar to the Hong Kong Dollar. This is evidence that Russian oligarchs are growing increasingly nervous about economic sanctions. And while news agencies grasp for reasons to explain why on any day that nickel prices are rising, nickel has now bounced off the support level of around $8.30/lb twice and maintains its sideways trend. Have a safe and relaxing weekend!
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.37/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Industrial Metals Drop as Unrest Seen Threatening to Curb Demand – more
Reuters metals morning – Copper set for biggest weekly drop in three weeks on demand worries – more
Reports
U.S. Exports of Stainless Steel Mill Products – more
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index – 84.87
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
CISA members’ crude steel production declined sharply during late-July – more
Small Chinese importers delay term copper shipments amid lending cuts – more
New Caledonia nickel deal cancelled – The new president of New Caledonia’s southern province has cancelled a deal with two major nickel companies to explore a huge ore deposit. – more
New Caledonian local govt axes nickel exploration venture – radio – more
China’s PNG nickel mine shutdown unlikely to impact 2014 output – A Chinese-owned nickel mine in Papua New Guinea, which was shut for a few days following an attack by armed villagers, should still be able to meet its target of 22,000 tonnes of nickel in 2014, the mine’s minority partner said on Friday. – more
Papua New Guinea villagers storm nickel mine, injure five Chinese workers – more
Meeting today over Ramu mine attack – more
New Bougainville mining law a world first – A new mining law in the autonomous Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville ensures that landowners have will own the resources on their land. – more
Nickel Asia readying for diversification into renewables – Mining firm Nickel Asia Corp is all set to diversify into the green power business through the acquisition of a controlling stake in a local renewable energy firm. – more
China Steel Exports Surging to Record as Demand at Home Wanes – China’s exports of steel products during the first seven months of the year have surged to a record as domestic consumption falls amid increasing demand from the U.S. and Europe. – 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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Thursday, August 7
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Wednesday’s trading session at $8.50/lb . Indicators at 7:00 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.09/lb higher, with other London traded base metals trading mostly lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses rose to another record high yesterday, and now totals 318,114 tonnes. Nickel spiked this morning on a Reuters report, published about 8 hours ago, that Ramu had shut down its operation due to an attack. For those regular readers of this blog, we posted a link to a Papau blog that reported much the same, 24 hours ago. By the time Reuters picked up the story, operations had pretty well resumed, so they have recently reported that operations have reopened. Nickel initially plummeted on this news, but it is bouncing off support his morning, and traders know that they need to keep the traded price above this level, or we could get a bearish technical signal. While Ramu is only targeted to produce 22,000 tonnes of nickel this year, traders have shifted their attention this morning back to Russia, who responded to new sanctions yesterday, buy setting some of their own. With a tit for tat ongoing, some traders are concerned Norilsk will eventually get dragged into this. Bloomberg is reporting “Nickel inventories should start to fall by the middle of next year as stainless-steel producers in China are forced to switch from using nickel-pig iron to other forms of nickel and ultimately the refined metal, according to Standard Chartered. High stockpiles will probably cap prices until a shortage takes hold, National Australia Bank Ltd. said in a report Aug. 4.” Norilsk is reportedly reporting that they feel stockpiles will begin to fall by the end of this year. Only time will tell who is right.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.33/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Nickel Rises Most in Four Weeks Amid Deficit View as Mine Halts – more
Reuters metals morning – Nickel rises on Russia sanctions concerns, copper steadies – more
Reports
US Imports of Stainless Steel Mill Products – more
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index – 84.86
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
(FW) USITC (United States International Trade Commission) concluded in its sunset review on July 22 that the U.S. AD measures on China’s steel bolts will continue. The Commission explains that cancelling the measures may again lead to tangible damage to related U.S. industries. According to the U.S. trade remedy, the anti-dumping rate of steel bolts is 47.37% to 206%.
China’s Ramu nickel mine in PNG restarts after attacks – embassy – A Chinese-owned nickel mine in Papua New Guinea has resumed production three days after an attack by armed villagers forced work to halt, a Chinese embassy official in the South Pacific country said on Thursday. – more
PNG’s Ramu Nickel Mine Closed After Attack – Ramu NiCo’s Kurumbukari mine in Madang has been forced to close after a group of villagers damaged properties worth millions of kina on Monday. – more
MCC faces the cost of its appalling mismanagement of a flawed mine – The attack on the multi-million kina Ramu nickel project has placed the company under immense financial pressure and the developer has been forced to cut costs. – more
Nickel Stockpiles at Record High as China Turns Exporter – Nickel inventories in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange extended gains to a record after China, the biggest producer and consumer, shipped more metal out than it imported amid a financing scandal. – more
BCL smelter expected back in operation this week – The BCL has been operating for a month now without a smelter as it has been offline for 35 days since the 1st of July due to remedial work that was carried out on it. – 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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Wednesday, August 6
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Tuesday’s trading session at $8.38/lb . Indicators at 6:50 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.01/lb lower, with other London traded base metals also trading lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses rose to an all time record high for a second consecutive day and now total 317,874 tonnes. SMM reports nickel ore inventories at China’s top five ports rose 167,000 tonnes and totaled 14.72 million tonnes in the week ending August 1st. After setting all time record high on 13 of 23 trading sessions last month, new records have been set on three of the four trading sessions this month. Cancelled warrants fell below the 30% level today, for the first time since November of last year. Nickel support still shows at $8.23/lb and held after being tested earlier this week. Nickel’s short term trend remains neutral while long term looks positive. Nickel is currently trading almost 15% off its 52 week high, and over 38% off its 52 week low. We feel commodity traders are watching equity markets nervously, with US markets signaling a correction may be in the works.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $8.34/lb
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Zinc Drops Amid Speculation Stronger Dollar Will Erode Demand – more
Reuters metals morning – LME copper hits two-week low on shaky China outlook, strong dollar – more
Reports
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index – 84.80
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
BHP Vows to Prevent Port Hedland Strike as Union Cites Impasse – more
Glencore PLC Downgraded by Bank of America to Underperform – more
Western Areas expects higher nickel concentrate prices in new offtake deal – Australia’s Western Areas expects higher prices for the nickel concentrate it is offering after its current offtake deal expires in December, given tight global supply and strong interest from China despite that country’s credit crisis. – more
Miners face increasing risk of default with volatile commodity prices – A Moody’s report reveals a rising risk of default for some smaller miners, amid volatile commodity prices. – more
Ramu mine closes after attack – Ramu NiCo’s Kurumbukari mine in Madang Province remains closed today after being attacked by armed villagers on Monday, causing damages to properties worth millions of kina. – more
15,000 Oregonians sign petition opposing nickel project – More than 15,000 petition signatures, in favor of a mineral withdrawal for public lands in southwest Oregon watersheds, were delivered Tuesday to the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to be presented to the U.S. Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture. – more
Goldman Sees Iron Ore Rout in 2015 as Supply Growth Quickens – Iron ore will extend a drop through 2015 when an increase in seaborne supply that’s spurred a global glut is set to accelerate, said Goldman Sachs Group Inc. – more
Steel Imports Up Sharply in First Half – For the first six months of 2014, total U.S. steel imports hit 20.9 million net tons, a 33 percent increase from first-half 2013, while finished steel imports totaled 15.6 million net tons, up 26 percent. Imports’ share of the U.S. finished steel market is around 27 percent, year to date, according to Commerce Department data. – more
Courtesy AISI – In the week ending August 2, 2014, domestic raw steel production was 1,901,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 79.0 percent. Production was 1,856,000 net tons in the week ending August 2, 2013, while the capability utilization then was 77.4 percent. The current week production represents a 2.4 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. Production for the week ending August 2, 2014 is down 1.0 percent from the previous week ending July 26, 2014 when production was 1,920,000 net tons and the rate of capability utilization was 79.8 percent.
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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
Monday and Tuesday, August 4 & 5
We are traveling today and tomorrow and our next update will be on Wednesday. Three month nickel closed Friday’s trading at $8.36/lb , and is so far trading flat this morning.
Friday, August 1
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing(8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Dow Jones is reporting three month nickel closed Thursday’s trading session at $8.39/lb . Indicators at 6:45 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.06/lb lower, with other London traded base metals also trading lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses broke another record on Thursday, gaining another 1830 tonnes to close at 317,628 tonnes. Nickel got whacked yesterday, thanks primarily due to a nervousness amongst traders that the free money from the US Fed may be drying up sooner than expected, thanks to strong economic news yesterday. A strong US July employment report today could intensify those fears, and metals are down again this morning. We read an analysis about the nickel industry that we felt was somewhat misleading this week and would like to post a reminder to others who may be making decision based on reports you might read. Laterite ore from Indonesia is a far cry from refined nickel from say, Canada. If you imported 1,000,000 tons of ore from Indonesia containing 2% nickel, that is equivalent to around 20,000 tons of refined nickel. Keeping this in mind, for every 1,000,000 tons of nickel ore that is no longer being imported from Indonesia due to the export ban, the market must find another 20,000 tons of refined nickel to make up the sudden deficit. And for every quarter the price of nickel increases, how much do mines in the rest of the world increase production? Have a safe and relaxing weekend.
Average price of cash nickel so far this month – n/a
Average price of LME traded nickel in 2013 – $6.80/lb / avg 2012 – $7.95/lb / avg 2011 – $10.36/lb / avg 2010 – $9.89/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)
Bloomberg metals morning – Copper Heads for Weekly Drop as U.S. Curbing Stimulus – more
Reuters metals morning – Nickel falls on rising inventories, other metals flat ahead of jobs data – more
Reports
AME Group Nickel Monthly Outlook – more
Commodities Daily – here
Commonwealth Daily Alert – pdf here
KBC Commodity Report – here
Angel Metals Fundamental Report – here
DNB Metals Weekly – pdf here
Mico Metals Weekly – pdf here
Hedge Equities Commodity Report – pdf here
MacNicol Morning Notes – pdf here
Mangal Commodities Metals & Energy – pdf here
Danske Weekly Focus – pdf here
Commodity/Economic Comments
China E-Stainless Daily Price Index – 84.88
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
100 Years of Stainless Steel – more
ArcelorMittal cuts outlook as ore prices hit mining – more
Japanese steel exports declined 2.1% in June ’14 – more
China PMI rises to 27-month high – more
Worldwide Stainless Steel Output To Top 40 Million Tonnes in 2014 – Global crude stainless steel production is predicted to reach a new record annual total of 40.2 million tonnes, in 2014 as reported by MEPS. – more
North American Stainless PR – For the month of August 2014, North American Stainless will maintain the fuel surcharge at 33% for stainless flat and long products. The surcharge rate is considered a maximum level for August and will be reviewed monthly.
Vale tells analysts to end fixation on China, iron-ore price – Analysts following Brazil’s Vale should stop obsessing over iron ore prices and Chinese demand to focus instead on the company’s other divisions and cost cuts, one of the miner’s top executives said on Thursday. – more
Singapore’s regulator seeks China commodity lending data-sources – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has sought information from some Singapore-based lenders about their Chinese clients and loan exposure to China amid an investigation into a suspected commodity financing fraud at China’s Qingdao port. – 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
Please let us know if any of these links stop working, stop carrying info, or become available to subscriber’s only. We encourage our readers to use the services of those companies who supply news and information free of charge.Contact us
July Archives
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“A Guide To LME Trading”…pdf here(all ton listings are metric tons = 2204.622 pounds ) Updated daily before 8 am CST weekdays – DisclaimerOriginal content and opinions copyright www.estainlesssteel.com. All prices shown on this page are indications only. Note – For real time and official LME prices, LME requires a user subscribe to an authorized LME vendor.
US markets are closed on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. Our next update will be on Tuesday. Have a safe and relaxing weekend.
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing (8:00 AM CST is 1PM in London)
Reports
Commodity/Economic Comments
Goldman Sachs sees nickel price rally continuing into 2015 – US investment bank Goldman Sachs said the refined nickel market has shifted from a major surplus in 2013 to a much smaller surplus in 2014, according to a research note Thursday, adding that prices are likely to continue to rally into 2015. – more
BIR Stainless Steel World Mirror August 2014 – Global: The following article is based on the latest Stainless Steel & Special Alloys World Mirror produced by the BIR world recycling organisation for the benefit of its members. – more
Zimbabwe: BNC Seeks National Project Status Nod – Bindura Nickel Corporation has approached Government with a request for its smelter restart project to be granted national project status. – more
Morning Nickel Price Statistics & Figures
Who Is Getting Rich From Nickel’s Wild Ride? – “It is a curious situation,” says Stephen Briggs, BNP Paribas’ wise man of metals, from his perch observing the London Metals Exchange. – more
Dominican Republic lawmakers back park in area where Canadian company seeks to mine – Lawmakers in the Dominican Republic approved a plan Wednesday to create a national park in an area where a Canadian company has sought to expand mining operations. – more
U.S. needs more domestic mining – To get an idea of how dependent America is on imported minerals and metals for modern technology, I pointed out nearly a year ago how important rare-earth elements were to our country and noted that we were 100 percent dependent on imports with China controlling 96 percent of the world market. – more
Glencore, Chinese in talks for Nickel West – Two front-runners have emerged in the contest for Nickel West, with vendor BHP Billiton in advanced talks with China’s largest nickel refiner Jinchuan Group and commodities trading giant Glencore.- more
Talks urged ahead of New Caledonia summit – The new French High Commissioner to New Caledonia says there should be discussions in the territory before the signatories of the Noumea Accord meet in Paris in October. – more
Emissions from Russia’s nickel industry increases – Sulphur dioxide pollution significantly up from Kola GMK’s smelters in Nikel and Monchegorsk. Norwegians measure more heavy metals in freshwater fish near the border. – more
China’s crude steel output to reach 830 million tonnes in 2014 – CISA – Mr Wang Xiaoqi vice chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association said that in the first seven months of the current year China’s average daily crude steel output exceeded 2.2 million tonnes and so China’s overall crude steel output in the current year is expected to reach 830 million tonnes. – more
Nunavik mine site turbine ready to catch wind – The construction of Nunavik’s newest and possibly tallest structure is complete — a hulking 120-metre (393 foot) high wind turbine, with blades extending 40 metres from the turbine’s centre. – more
Glencore Starts $1 Billion Buyback as CEO Says Boom Isn’t Over – Glencore Plc’s billionaire Chief Executive Officer, Ivan Glasenberg, underscored his belief in the longevity of the global commodities boom by beating his biggest rivals in handing out surplus cash to investors. – more
China taps Singapore in push to boost pricing power in metals – Chinese metals traders have opened offices and hired top talent in Singapore over the past year, aiming to capture opportunities created by the exit of a string of Western banks from the global commodities trading business. – more
Public will see benefits of mining law, says Bougainville Admin. – The Chief Administrator in the Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville says once the public are informed about a new mining law, they will see the protections it offers. – more
Indonesia’s ore exports ban stays under Widodo – Indonesia’s ban on ore exports will remain in place under the next government as the curbs spur as much as US$18 billion in investment in processing plants by 2017, according to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. – more
Tata Steel closes Bamnipal plan – Tata Steel has shut down its 50,000 tonnes per annum ferroalloys plant at Bamnipal in Keonjhar district of Odisha due to unavailability of raw material. – more
Workers oppose mine closure – Thousands of mine workers staged a protest caravan here during the weekend to press their demand to re-open four mining companies ordered closed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), organizers said on Sunday. – more
BCL smelter expected back in operation this week – The BCL has been operating for a month now without a smelter as it has been offline for 35 days since the 1st of July due to remedial work that was carried out on it. – more
Worldwide Stainless Steel Output To Top 40 Million Tonnes in 2014 – Global crude stainless steel production is predicted to reach a new record annual total of 40.2 million tonnes, in 2014 as reported by MEPS. – more
Vale tells analysts to end fixation on China, iron-ore price – Analysts following Brazil’s Vale should stop obsessing over iron ore prices and Chinese demand to focus instead on the company’s other divisions and cost cuts, one of the miner’s top executives said on Thursday. – more
