Stainless Steel News and Nickel Prices, Molybdenum, Metal Pricing, Ferrochrome
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing
- Nickel closed Wednesday’s trading session at
$7.86/lb
($17,320/tonne). Indicators at 6:00 am CST today show nickel trading around $.52/lb lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell on Wednesday and ended that session just under the 261,000 tonne level. February ended with a $1200 tonne drop the last week, and yesterday beat that. Today, we are seeing the biggest morning drop we ever remember recording on this site. Nickel fell below the 50 day moving average yesterday, with the 200 day mva sitting around the $16,200 tonne level. Technical signals are all flashing sell, and once again, appear to be reflecting the actual condition of the market, rather than forecasting. Typically, when we see this type of bearish turn, a nickel producer will pop up with some supply news to add some support. Yesterday, it was Norilsk’s turn, and they took the opportunity to remind traders that nearly 36% of their production of nickel has been adversely affected by the mine floods. Traders, however, were having none of it and the warning fell on deaf ears. So, the bull market that began on March 31st, 2020 is suddenly in trouble. It’s too early to call an end to the bull’s free roam, but his free running appears to be in trouble. Business reporters are crediting the Tsingham news for the sudden turn in the market. We aren’t buying this as the market was clearly in trouble last week, well before yesterday’s announcement. This turn was started by Mr Musk, and all the news since, bearish or otherwise, has just added salt to the sore. It’s Thursday and we are on the downhill slide. Stay safe and have a great day! - Average price of LME traded cash nickel so far this month – $8.32/lb
- LME nickel chart – here / Euro/US Dollar chart – here
Reports
- Reuters metals morning – London nickel drops most since 2016 after Tsingshan supply deal – more
- Refinitiv Inside Commodities – pdf here
- ING The Commodities Feed – daily here
- Barchart 304 Stainless Steel Scrap Index (lb) – $.3557
- SHFE Stainless Steel Futures (yuan) – 13,905
- Global Manufacturing PMIs – pdf here
- Beige Book – pdf here
- MolyReview issue 1, 2021 – pdf here
- Recycling Today March 2021 – online 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
Wednesday’s market review – Aluminium gives up gains on producer selling, options expiry – Aluminum prices retreated on Wednesday as producers took advantage of a rally to sell metal and after an options expiry spurred higher volatility. – more
US stainless steel prices forecast to reach 9-year high – The past twelve months were a turbulent time for all those involved in the US stainless steel market. In a dramatic turnaround, the unprecedented pandemic-induced slump in steel requirements was superseded by strong demand, stock shortages and soaring prices. – more
China stainless steel slumps 6% as nickel prices drop – Stainless steel futures in China dropped 6% on Thursday to hit their daily trading limit, as a slide in nickel rates weighed on prices. – more
Nornickel warns on output as two mines remain partly suspended – Russia’s Norilsk Nickel expects production losses as its two major mines remain partly suspended due to an ingress of water, CEO and top shareholder Vladimir Potanin said on Wednesday, adding that it would calculate the losses by March 9. – more
Nickel: Breakthrough technology may be a game-changer – The nickel industry has always been on the cusp of change, and the latest news that Tsingshan will mass-produce nickel matte could be a game-changer. – more
Indonesia takes the battle to WTO over EU’s challenge against nickel export curbs – Indonesia is “ready to fight” the European Union’s challenge of the Southeast Asian country’s ban on nickel ore exports at the World Trade Organisation, arguing the Union’s actions may hinder Indonesia’s development plans, according to Indonesia’s trade minister, as reported by Reuters. – more
Rising EV-grade nickel demand fuels interest in risky HPAL process – As analysts and industry participants warn of a looming shortage of battery-grade nickel, there is an ample pipeline of projects employing high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) technology to produce nickel chemicals. But scrutiny of the process is also growing, after some facilities ran into difficulties or produced less than expected. – more
Courtesy AISI – In the week ending on February 27, 2021, domestic raw steel production was 1,749,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 77.2 percent. Production was 1,880,000 net tons in the week ending February 27, 2020 while the capability utilization then was 81.3 percent. The current week production represents a 7.0 percent decrease from the same period in the previous year. – more
Distributor Pandemic Index Posts Major Rebound – The penultimate PRI showed a healthy rebound to double-digit gains after weather impacts previously snapped a 13-week growth streak. – more
Director of two firms under nickel trading probe tells investors he will try to return their money – The director of two firms being probed for alleged fraud related to nickel trading told investors at a 10-minute webcast meeting on Wednesday (March 3) that he will try to return them all their money. – more
Economist predicts net job loss from mine near BWCA – Harvard economics professor predicts proposed copper-nickel mine near Boundary Waters would chase away more jobs than it would create – more
Other News
- Reuters The Day Ahead – pdf here
- US public turns against China in worst poll savaging since last year’s record – more
- Stocks Drop With U.S. Futures; Bond Yields Steady: Markets Wrap – more
Morning Stats and Prices
- U.S. Steel Import Monitor – online here
- SIMA Melt & Pour Dashboard – online here
- Yesterday’s LME official prices here
- Shanghai Jinchuan nickel price – here
- India MCX Nickel Price – more
- Baltic Dry Index – chart
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