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

  Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing (7:00 AM CST is 12 PM in London)

  • Nickel closed Monday’s trading session at

    $8.19/lb

    ($18,050/tonne). Indicators at 6:20 am CST today show nickel trading around $.03/lb  lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses rose again o Monday and started today just over the 155,900 tonne level. Nickel made a bullish run late yesterday, breaking through the $18,000/tonne level, where it spent the evening until morning trading pulled it back south of that level. We would like to think the $18,000 tonne level is setting itself up as the line for traders to fight over, but the last two levels we thought would do that, did not last very long. Citi Bank published their new nickel price forecast for 2020 – around $8/lb, much lower than Goldman’s new forecast of near $10/lb. Makes it pretty hard to make long term buying decisions when the guys and gals paid to know this stuff are that far apart on forecasts. It’s not their fault, and remind your boss of that when they snarl at you because you bought when you thought the time was right, but turned out to be wrong. Little more news than yesterday, but nothing that we see really moving the market.

  • Average price of LME traded cash nickel so far this month – $8.12/lb
  • Average price of LME traded nickel in first half of 2019 – $5.59/lb / 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb /

  Reports

  • Reuters metals morning – Shanghai nickel jumps ahead of key Indonesia meeting – more
  • Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here  
  • SMM Evening Comments – more
  • Reuters The Day Ahead – pdf here
  • Raw Material Monthly Averages for August – here
  • Desjardin’s Commodity Trends – pdf here

  Commodity/Economic Comments

  • China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
  • Scotiabank Reports – more
  • Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
  • Stainless steel: The role of nickel – here
  • Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
  • Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
  • Reuters – “Our nickel bull case of an Indonesian ore export ban before 2020 has become our base,” Citi said in a note, revising up its price forecast for next year to $17,500 a tonne from $14,000….”
  • China Factory Deflation Deepens Signaling Worsening Economic Slowdown – more

     Monday’s market review – Copper slides, demand doubts reinforced by China data – Copper prices slipped on Monday as expectations of weak demand in top consumer China were reinforced by data showing a surprise fall in its exports, but losses were limited by the likelihood of policy stimulus to shore up growth. – more

      Philippines H1 nickel ore output rises 3% despite mine shutdowns – Nickel ore output in the Philippines, one of the world’s top two producers of the material for stainless steel and batteries, rose 3% in the first half, government data showed. – more

      Fitch unit: Nickel output to grow 2.5% in 10 years – As mining firms are set to recover this year, nickel production in the country is expected to grow at an annual average rate of 2.5 percent over the next decade, Fitch Solutions Macro Research said. – more

      Glencore’s focusing on on safer regions like Minnesota – Glencore Inc’s penchant for risk has long been mining industry lore, but the company is quickly expanding into a part of the world that would have been improbable just a few years ago: Minnesota. – more

      Courtesy AISI – In the week ending on September 7, 2019, domestic raw steel production was 1,835,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 78.8 percent. Production was 1,866,000 net tons in the week ending September 7, 2018 while the capability utilization then was 79.6 percent. The current week production represents a 1.7 percent decrease from the same period in the previous year. Production for the week ending September 7, 2019 is down 0.8 percent from the previous week ending August 31, 2019 when production was 1,850,000 net tons and the rate of capability utilization was 79.5 percent. – source

      IAPMO The Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Technical Committee Report on Proposals for Public Review and Comment – pdf here

      In all the talk about exports from Indonesia, a tragedy in our industry got lost. On August 20th, the bulk carrier Nur Allya carrying nickel ore from Indonesia, sent a distress signal, and then was lost. A search since has located an empty life boat only. Twenty five souls have been apparently lost. They weren’t members of the nickel or stainless steel industry, but without them, these industries would suffer greatly. And today, twenty five families are suffering. We do not know their names, or their faces. But today we remember them and pray their families and friends find peace. Ship info

  Morning Nickel Price Statistics & Figures

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