Stainless Steel News and Nickel Prices, Molybdenum, Metal Pricing, Ferrochrome

  Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing 

• Nickel closed Thursday’s trading session at

  $15.40/lb

  ($33,955/tonne). Indicators at 6:25 am CST today show nickel trading around $.09/lb lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell on Thursday and started today’s session just under the 72,700 tonne level. The Euro is trading lower this morning, after a temporary bounce helped nickel yesterday. China is beefing up its covid quarantine measures in Shanghai, sending the more vulnerable into special camps. Tesla Shanghai reopened but workers there are required to eat and sleep at the factory when not working. They are apparently quarantined ‘at work’. Allegheny and Cliffs published May surcharges yesterday and you will find them in category “What the —?” – posted here. If the news from around the world of wars, and pandemics, and inflation, etc. isn’t bad enough for you, we thought we would share a little article that went ‘under the radar’ –

  (China to boost coffee imports as young professionals drink more –

  more

  )

  . At first glance, the fact that 1.3 billion Chinese are growing an appetite for coffee seems to be no big deal, good for them, but if your morning cup of java starts getting more expensive, here is just one more reason why. Stay safe out there, enjoy your coffee while you can afford it, and have a great weekend!

• Average price of LME traded cash nickel so far this month – $15.16/lb

Reports Reuters metals morning – LME copper set for third weekly fall on China’s COVID woes – more Refinitiv Inside Commodities – pdf here ING The Commodities Feed – daily here Barchart 304 Stainless Steel Scrap Index (lb) – $.5042 304 SS Scrap Prices Local (updated bi-weekly) – more

Shanghai Metals Market SHFE Stainless Steel  Futures (yuan) – more SHFE Nickel Futures (yuan) – more SHFE Inventory (updated each Friday) – more Shanghai Jinchuan nickel price –  here   London Metals Market Yesterday’s LME official prices here LME nickel chart – here

    Thursday’s market review – Copper rebounds after miners report sliding production – Copper prices bounced on Thursday after a spate of production problems that threaten to cut supply, including a state of emergency in Peru, the world’s second biggest producer. – more

     IMF says LME governance needs strengthening after nickel fiasco – The International Monetary Fund said the London Metal Exchange’s governance systems need to be strengthened after a massive short squeeze that left the world’s main nickel market suspended for six days last month and billions of dollars of trades canceled. – more

     Taiwan’s stainless steel mills to benefit from rising nickel prices – The international nickel price is still on a rise during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, coupled with the successive unblocking in China’s various regions, the stainless steel market is driven up, which will help Taiwan’s stainless steel companies, including Yusco, Tang Eng, Walsin Lihwa, to gain profits and perform well this quarter. – more

     China steel market walks high wire between cutting output, boosting growth: Russell – China’s iron ore and steel markets are having to juggle several different and contradictory factors in trying to work out whether the current elevated prices are justified. – more

     Temporary anti-dumping tax imposed on welding materials imported from Malaysia, Thailand, China – The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has issued Decision No. 706/QD-BCT on the imposition of temporary anti-dumping tax rates on some types of welding materials of the Malaysian, Thai and Chinese origins. – more

     Japanese crude steel output up 8.9% in March from February – In March this year, Japanese crude steel production was up by 8.9 percent compared to the previous month and fell by 4.3 percent compared to March 2021, totaling 7.95 million mt, according to the data released by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF). – more

     Myanmar Resistance Threatens Chinese Mines – China-backed projects in Myanmar are now under threat from resistance forces with 16 groups in Sagaing Region warning Chinese-run copper mines in Salingyi to halt operations. – more

     German fabricators call for cooperation in price wave – Fabricators and processors on various levels of steel and metals products need to go shoulder-to-shoulder with their business partners through times of erratic price leaps, says their German federation WSM. – more

• German steel sales rose, stocks fell on month in March: BDS – more

    
European electric car makers have a Russian nickel problem – Europe may need Russian nickel to meet its climate goals – and Indigenous activists may need Europe to hold a Russian mining giant to account. – more

   Other News

• Reuters The Day Ahead – pdf here
• Texas Governor’s Border Slowdown Cost $4 Billion, Research Shows – more
• Robot Truckers Could Replace 500K U.S. Jobs – more
• World awaits China’s decision on how to handle its Russian ‘grey rhino’ – more

  Economic Stats and Prices

U.S. Steel Import Monitor – here SIMA Melt & Pour Dashboard – here US Economy At a Glance – more US Economic Indicators – more US Economic Activity – (every Monday) – pdf here US Fed NY Weekly Economic Index – more FX Street Economic Calendar – more	Iron Ore Price Graph – 1  2  3  India MCX Nickel Price – more Baltic Dry Index – chart COVID By The Numbers – here How is your state faring? – more What time is it in….? – more Euro/US Dollar chart – here
Why Stainless Steel Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here 100 Years of Stainless Steel Video – here Stainless steel: The role of nickel – here The Life of Nickel – pdf here	Слава Україні! – more        300 vs 200 series stainless steels, which alternative suits? – more