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

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Thursday, March 28

• Three month nickel closed Wednesday’s trading session at $5.92/lb . Indicators at 6:20 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.03/lb lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell slightly overnight and started today just over the 183,100 tonne level. Since our report earlier this week that stockpile numbers could become a story for 2019, after dropping by over 1 to 2000 tonnes each day for the prior four days, nickel has fallen by just over 1000 tonnes over the last three… so the story for 2019 has yet to develop. Right now the story is how close to $13,000 per tonne can LME traders get without actually stopping on that level. Yesterday they closed within $60 per tonne – on the positive side. Right now, they are trading within $20/tonne – on the negative side. Since the 4th of February, nickel has closed on the plus or minus side of $13,000/tonne, and most of those days, it closed within $200/tonne. One chart we watch has nickel’s 10, 50 and 200 day moving average all within less than $100/tonne of each other. With an exciting market like that, the metals writers who look for excuses to explain why things happen the way they did each day, should be explaining why the market is doing much of nothing these days. In other markets, China steel futures show signs of peaking early last week and the trend has turned negative. The Euro is trading lower against the US Dollar on the day and week. The Chinese stainless steel future index we follow shows nickel slightly lower this week over last, 3/4 of 1% higher than last month, but 2.3% lower than last quarter. Short, mid and long term technicals are now neutral, meaning the indicators are sending mixed signals, or like a traffic light in a thunder storm, have gone dark. China and US have resumed talks in China, with more scheduled next week in Washington. This is our final update for the week, so we wish our readers a safe and relaxing weekend and invite you back next week, when we will try to explain which is more exciting – watching paint dry or following LME nickel prices these days.     
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $5.93/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – Most base metals steady in tight trade ahead of U.S.-China trade talks – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more
• U.S. Imports of Stainless Steel Mill Products – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• Expecting the Unexpected: Job Losses and Household Spending – more
• International Trade Court Upholds Constitutionality of Trump Steel Tariffs – more
• U.S. Trade Team Back in Beijing as China Sees Much Still to Do – more
• Euro-Area Sentiment Drops for Ninth Month Amid Bleaker Outlook – more
• Bond Rally Eases; Stocks Mixed as Dollar Advances: Markets Wrap – more

     Wednesday’s market review – Aluminium rises to one-week high as LME stocks fall – Aluminium touched a one-week high on Wednesday as inventories fell and prices shrugged off another step towards a full restart of Norsk Hydro’s Brazil alumina operations. – more

       Indonesia nickel boom on track to overshadow palm oil: investment chief – Indonesia’s nickel-related industries such as the production of stainless steel and battery materials are set to surpass the value of its second-biggest export earner, palm oil, in the next 10 to 15 years, its investment board chief said on Wednesday. – more

      Johnson Matthey chooses Poland to produce new battery materials – Chemicals group Johnson Matthey has secured a site in Poland to produce ultra-high energy battery materials and signed a 10-year supply deal with Canada’s Nemaska Lithium as it seeks to grow its exposure to the electric vehicle market. – more

      Fortum boosts battery recycling to over 80 percent – Fortum has achieved the high recycling rate for electric vehicle (EV) batteries of 80 percent with a low-CO2 hydrometallurgical recycling process in which the batteries are first made safe for mechanical treatment, with plastics, aluminium and copper separated and directed to their own recycling processes – 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, March 27

• Three month nickel closed Tuesday’s trading session at $5.94/lb . Indicators at 6:15am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.03/lb lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell overnight and started today just over the 183,100 tonne level. Nickel jumped over $200/tonne yesterday, and back over the $13,000/tonne level, but has been losing ground ever since. Today’s news of China cutting subsidies to the EV industry by half can not be considered good news for an industry that is looking to the EV market for its future growth. So far, we see no immediate reaction to this news, but we wont be surprised to see the $13,000/tonne level give itself up once again. Trade negotiations are on track for Thursday and President Trump is promising the American people an “excellent deal”. And World Steel announced worldwide steel production was over 4% YOY in Febraury. It’s Hump Day.
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $5.93/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – Shanghai zinc hits 1-year high; tight stocks, trade talks in focus – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more
• February 2019 crude steel production – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• U.S., China Trade Talks to Resume as Trump Vows ‘Excellent’ Deal – more
• Bonds Rally as U.S. Futures, Europe Stocks Decline: Markets Wrap – more

     Tuesday’s market review – Copper steady as growth concerns deepen and trade talks loom – Copper prices held steady on Tuesday as a murky global economic growth outlook sapped demand ahead of a new round of trade talks between the United States and China this week. – more

      China’s yanking away the safety net that’s been cushioning its EV makers – Beijing on Tuesday (March 26) sharply scaled back the subsidies it began showering on its nascent electric vehicle industry about a decade ago, saying the move is intended to ”advance the industry by selecting the superior and eliminating the inferior.” – more

• China cuts subsidies on electric vehicles as sector’s costs fall  – more

      Electric vehicles, 5G to drive base metal demand growth: Japan mining association – Electric vehicles and 5G telecommunications are the key drivers of base metal demand in the coming years, the Japan Mining Industry Association chairman told reporters Wednesday. – more

      Will nickel price continue its gain? SHMET surveys – SHFE nickel opened Wednesday’s trading higher following price gains on Tuesday’s night trading hours. – more

      S. African Charge Cr Price for Europe in Apr-Jun Up by Cents 8 – On March 19, Merafe Resources Ltd., South Africa, a joint venture partner for Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture announced in its own home page that the benchmark price of South African charge chrome for the period from April to June in 2019 meant for Europe was fixed at US Cents 120.0 per lb. – more

      Russian tycoon Potanin plans crypto tokens backed by palladium – MMC Norilsk Nickel and its billionaire chief Vladimir Potanin are planning several digital platforms, including using crypto tokens for trading palladium. – more

      Nickel has comeback whiff as EVs fuel demand forecasts – Despite its recent run, the nickel price remains some way from the “excitement levels” of yesteryear. – 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, March 26

• Three month nickel closed Monday’s trading session at $5.84/lb . Indicators at 6:20 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.02/lb higher. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell on Monday and started the days session just below the 183,600 tonne level. Last week ended with news and movement in the traded price of nickel, but so far, this week, it has been a yawner. At the moment, nickel is trading about where it ended last week at, and once again, $13,000/tonne looks to be the level to beat. The average price of nickel, which had averaged above 2018’s average this month, has dropped below that level today. US stainless steel surcharges for April are out and the three we follow are posted here. Not much too talk about in the market today.
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $5.94/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – Copper drifts as U.S. economy worries weigh – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• CanAlaska Uranium to buy past-producing nickel mine – more
• EV Boom Charges Up Nickel Miner Mincor – more
• Treasury Yields Rise as U.S. Stock Futures Edge Up: Markets Wrap – more

     Monday’s market review – Copper hits lowest in a month on growth worries – Copper prices touched their lowest in more than a month on Monday on worries about global economic growth, but falling inventories and the upcoming peak demand season for industrial metals were seen curbing losses. – more

      Imports of nickel ore decline 13.5% in Feb – China’s imports of nickel ore shrank 13.5% from January to stand at 2.16 million mt in February, up 40.4% from a year earlier, according to data from China Customs. – more

      Tug-of-war: China’s steel sector grapples short-term bulls, longer-term bears: Russell – China’s steel sector, and the imported iron ore upon which it relies, are currently locked in a struggle between largely bearish longer-term structural factors and short-term cyclical influences, some of which are bullish. – more

      Courtesy AISI – In the week ending on March 23, 2019, domestic raw steel production was 1,934,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 83.1 percent. Production was 1,826,000 net tons in the week ending March 23, 2018 while the capability utilization then was 78.3 percent. The current week production represents a 5.9 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. Production for the week ending March 23, 2019 is up 0.2 percent from the previous week ending March 16, 2019 when production was 1,930,000 net tons and the rate of capability utilization was 82.9 percent. – 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

Monday, March 25

• Three month nickel closed Friday’s trading session at $5.87/lb . Indicators at 6:20 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.03/lb lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell on Thursday and Friday and started the week just under the 184,300 tonne level. Stockpiles became a story over the last half of last week. We printed early last week where the average rate of daily withdrawals had averaged 507 tonnes thru mid month. But over the last four business days, that average tripled to 1,543 tonnes. Just a spurt of buying or the start of a new trend? It’s too early to tell, but if the latter, then stockpiles will become ‘the ‘story of 2019. Nickel fell sharply on Friday, and back below the 13,000 tonne level… yet again. The US Dollar rose a tad, which always puts negative pressure on commodity trading. A key U.S. economic indicator turned south on Friday, causing global bond yields to tumble. And President Trump threatened last week that he may keep some tariff’s in place, regardless of any agreement, to hold China accountable. With face to face talks set to resume in Beijing on China, this threat seemed to cast a negative tone to what has been an otherwise positive appearance to the media. We begin another week – hope it’s a good one for you!
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $5.95/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – Shanghai copper hits over 1-mth low on U.S. recession fears – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more
• US Economy in a Snapshot March 2019 – pdf here

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• Spring scenery across China – more
• U.S. Treasuries signal trouble, stocks fall on global growth worries – more
• Schnitzer Steel Foresees Higher Net Selling Prices for Finished Steel Products – more
• Stainless Steel Bar From Spain: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2017-2018 – more
• The European benchmark ferrochrome price has been settled at $1.20/lb for the second quarter of 2019.
• Global Stocks Extend Declines; Treasuries Slip: Markets Wrap – more

     Friday’s market review – Copper has worst week since December as dollar firms – Copper prices fell on Friday as weak European and U.S. factory data spread gloom about the global economic outlook and strengthened the dollar. – more

      China’s Nickel Deployment in Passenger EV Batteries Up 253% YoY in January 2019 – In January 2019, the Chinese market saw 253% more nickel deployed in passenger EV batteries than the same month the year prior, according to a model-by-model build-up using Adamas Intelligence’s ‘EV Battery Capacity and Battery Metals Tracker’ – more

      Indonesia, China slap anti-dumping duties on each other’s steel product – Indonesia and China on Friday slapped anti-dumping import duties on each other’s steel products in an escalation of a global tariff row involving one of the world’s most widely used metals. – more

      DMCI Mining plans to restart Berong nickel mine in the Philippines – DMCI Mining plans to restart mining this year at its Berong nickel project in the Philippine province of Palawan after the lifting of a suspension order by the country’s environment and natural resources authorities last November. – more

      Market Trend of Import of Ferroalloy as of 15 March 2019 = Ferroalloy is in expectation of further rise throughout world due to rising market in China = The economic-stimulus policy China indicated in the National People’s Congress held during 5th to 15th of March) promises the increased steel demand including infrastructure investments, and the prices of some of the ferroalloys in the ferroalloy industry show a sign of a price hike in anticipation of an increase in consumption from April onward. – more

      Taiwanese stainless steel wire rod imports rise while exports fall in Feb m-o-m – According to the statistics, Taiwan imported around 1,800 tons of stainless steel wire rod in February this year, up by 31.18% compared to the previous month. – more

      Ramu NiCo wants a deal that makes everyone happy – The management of Ramu NiCo has proclaimed that it stands ready and committed to fulfil its obligation in a new memorandum of agreement. – more

      Army Corps of Engineers grants final permit for PolyMet mine – PolyMet Mining Corp. has received the final permit it needs to proceed with building Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mine, the company and the Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday. – more

      Yildizlar SSS Holding Plans to Build a New Ferrochrome Plant in Elazig,Turkey – Yildizlar SSS Holding has started working to build a new ferrochrome plant in Elazig,Turkey. The company plans to lay foundation for the chrome concentrate plant in the second half of 2019. – 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, March 21

• Three month nickel closed Wednesday’s trading session at $5.99/lb . Indicators at 6:20 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.05/lb higher. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell Wednesday and started today’s session just over the 187,100 tonne level. After yesterday’s bullish run collapsed after our morning update, traders are trying it again today. We don’t see yesterday’s halt at $6.03/lb as technically significant, but more of a general sentiment turn in commodities as a whole. And while precious metals are up this morning and base are trading generally lower, nickel is bucking the trend ….for now. While the announcement came too late to really affect London trading, the US Fed stating that the market should see no more interest rate increases for 2019, was greeted with mixed reactions. Generally good for stocks, the question was immediately asked ‘Why?”. If interest rates continue to be a reflection of the economy, then an unchanged interest rate would reflect a slowdown in the economic recovery, right? Port Hedland in Australia is shutting down as Tropical Cyclone Veronica approaches. Hedland is more of an iron ore port than nickel, so we should see no affect on nickel prices from the closure. For those who want nickel to stay over the $13,000 tonne price level, we don’t think the market is out of those woods yet. Right now the market is basically copying what it did a few weeks ago, and that bullish spurt turned out to be little more than a dead cat bounce. This is our last update for the week, and we wish our readers a safe and enjoyable weekend – it’s finally spring here in the colonies – and w hope to see you again next week.
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $5.95/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – London copper hits 3-week high on dollar weakness, tight supply – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• Port Hedland Forecast – (note Sunday) – more
• Bonds Gain, Stocks Wobble as Fed Spurs Caution: Markets Wrap – more

     Wednesday’s market review – Zinc climbs as stocks diminish – Zinc prices rose on Wednesday as inventories in London Metal Exchange warehouses hit fresh lows, but other industrial metals dipped on uncertainty over global demand. – more

      Yama warns Ramu nickel mine – Ramu nickel mine will close if no proper agreement is negotiated to benefit the people of Madang, says Governor Peter Yama. – more

      Philippine nickel producer DMCI sees tough year with mine shut, inventory declining – Philippine nickel producer DMCI Mining Corp, a unit of conglomerate DMCI Holdings Inc, on Thursday said it expected 2019 to be a tough year, with one of its two mines still suspended and its inventory almost depleted. – more

      Better times ahead for the Steel sector? – The revival of Eastern Steel Sdn Bhd’s steel slab plant in Kemaman, Terengganu, last year could be an indication that the local iron and steel industry — which had been hit by an influx of cheap imports from China in recent years — may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. – more

      R&D centers eyed for higher nickel production – The establishment of regional inclusive innovation centers (RIICs) in Caraga and Mimaropa regions is being considered to develop and boost nickel ore production of the country. – more

      Peterborough’s Innovation Cluster exemplifies ties that bind Canada, Brazil – Canada has a complicated history with Brazil. Much of our shared experience is written in the language of commerce and has been controversial to the point of bitterness. – 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, March 20

• Three month nickel closed Tuesday’s trading session at $5.98/lb . Indicators at 6:25 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.03/lb higher. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell on Tuesday and started the day just under the 188,400 tonne level. Yesterday, we saw LME nickel stockpiles fall by more than 2,000 tonne for the first time since October of last year. The International Stainless Steel Forum, another of those European agencies that have yet to learn that titles in all caps means yelling, announced worldwide stainless steel production increased by 5.5% last year. China continues to lead world production, producing over half of the world’s total. Except for tin, base metals are trading higher this morning, while precious metals are all lower. Chinese steel futures remain flat, trading up and down and going no where. Stainless steel prices are over 1.6% lower than last week, but 1.3% higher than last month and nearly 1.8% lower than this time last year. The Euro’s gain against the US Dollar appears to be faltering around Monday’s highs. Bulls are making another run for the border, but the bears remain alert.
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $5.96/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – Base metals ease ahead of Fed meeting outcome – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• European Steel Price Rises Thwarted by Lacklustre Demand – more
• U.S. Sees China Trade Pushback as Trump Touts Progress – more
• It’s China Slowdown — Not the Trade War — Investors See as the Bigger Risk – more
• Stocks Trade Mixed Before Fed; Treasuries Steady: Markets Wrap – more

     Tuesday’s market review – Aluminium hits three-month high after Hydro cyber attack – Aluminium touched a three-month peak on Tuesday after major producer Norsk Hydro was hit by a cyber attack, causing its giant smelters to switch to manual operation and some extrusion plants to be shut. – more

      Stainless Steel Production Reached 50.7 Million Metric Tons in 2018 – The International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) has released figures for the full year 2018 showing that stainless steel melt shop production increased by 5.5% year–on–year to 50.7 million metric tons. – more

      ITSS and POSCO Competing Across Asia Over SST CR Steel – With the future direction of the LMI nickel (Ni) price—whether it will recover to $6 per pound or stay at $5— remaining unclear, the prospect of the price of Ni-base, cold-rolled (CR) stainless steel (SST) also remains unforeseeable. Under such circumstances, competitions between South Korea’s POSCO and PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS) over the product are reportedly being intensified. – more

      Sumitomo says Ambatovy nickel plant shut for 2 weeks in February – Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp said on Wednesday its Ambatovy nickel plant in Madagascar was forced to shut for about two weeks in early February due to trouble at its hydrogen plant, and may miss its revised annual production target. – more

      China’s Foreign Trade Result of Molybdenum in January 2019 = When compared with year-earlier month, export is up by 18% but import is down by 60% = According to the calculation to figure out volumes in pure Mo equivalent based on China’s customs statistics, the export volume in January 2019 was 1.4884 million lbs (up by 17.7% from the year-earlier month) and the import volume was 1.5962 million lbs (down by 60.3% ditto). – more

      Speaker calls for more domestic ore processing – Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the mining industry needs to set up its own processing facilities to allow value-addition to take place domestically, though some miners expressed skepticism due to the current freeze on granting new mining permits. – more

• DENR told to act as ‘promoter’ of mining 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

Tuesday, March 19

• Three month nickel closed Monday’s trading session at $5.97/lb . Indicators at 6:15 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.11/lb higher. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME approved warehouses fell on Monday and started today just over the 190,400 tonne level. For the first half of March, LME nickel withdrawals grew to an average of 507 tonnes per day. The Euro continues to gain on the US Dollar, apparently bottoming out on the 7th. This is helping commodities to trade higher, nearly across the board today. Nickel has finally climbed back above the $13,000 tonne level this morning, and it will be interesting to see if that level continues to hold the rubber band effect it seems to be holding on trading. Today’s spike is healthy, so it might just be enough to pull away. We show technical resistance at $6.17/lb, but until the market shows some bullish consistencey, still feel $5.90/lb has a psychological hold on the market. And in a twist, we post a story from Yieh about a stainless steel anti-dumping investigation against India by China.
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $5.95/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – Copper inches higher on China’s tax cut, Q2 growth hopes – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• Stocks Gain as Traders Await Fed; Dollar Steadies: Markets Wrap – more
• El Niño ALERT; likelihood of El Niño in 2019 increases – more

     Monday’s market review – Copper steady as economic concerns jostle with China demand hopes – Copper prices held steady on Monday, bolstered by expectations of seasonally strong Chinese demand in the second quarter and low stocks but capped by concern over the impact of continuing trade tensions on the global economy. – more

      Top Philippine nickel miner says 2019 ore sales steady, exports to China to fall – Nickel Asia Corp, the Philippines’ top nickel ore producer, expects its 2019 shipments to be unchanged from last year, although it plans to increase its domestic sales to maximize profits, its chief financial officer told Reuters. – more

      China starts AD investigation on stainless steel from Indonesia & South Korea – Recently, the anti-dumping by China to Indonesia and other places will appear again. China’s anti-dumping investigation on stainless steel products from Indonesia, South Korea and other places began in September 2018 and entered the investigation stage in November. – more

      BHP Nickel West to buy nickel from Mincor operations – BHP Billiton Nickel West has extended its offtake partnership with Mincor Resources, marking a key step in Mincor’s restart of its Kambalda nickel mining operations in Western Australia. – more

• Mincor Resources secures nickel offtake agreement with BHP Nickel West as restart plans gain momentum – more

      Courtesy AISI – In the week ending on March 16, 2019, domestic raw steel production was 1,930,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 82.9 percent. Production was 1,826,000 net tons in the week ending March 16, 2018 while the capability utilization then was 78.3 percent. The current week production represents a 5.7 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. Production for the week ending March 16, 2019 is down 0.6 percent from the previous week ending March 9, 2019 when production was 1,941,000 net tons and the rate of capability utilization was 83.4 percent. – more

      Researchers create hydrogen fuel from seawater – Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen presents an alternative to fossil fuels, but purified water is a precious resource. A team has now developed a way to harness seawater — Earth’s most abundant source — for chemical energy.  – 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

Monday, March 18

• Three month nickel closed Friday’s trading session at $5.87/lb . Indicators at 6:15 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.01/lb higher. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell on Thursday and Friday and start the week just over the 190,800 tonne level. Nickel closed below the $13,000 tonne level on both Thursday and Friday and so far today, is showing little enthusiasm toward an attempt to climb back over it. The Shanghai market price did not move from Friday. There was a report in a China business paper on Saturday, that a summit to announce any trade agreement between China and the US, may be delayed to June. No confirmation or denial from the US yet, but US representatives have been pushing for an April summit. Not sure how traders will take more delays. On the positive side, the two parties are still talking. On the negative, the effects of the tariffs on both economies are starting to show and could only intensify without a quick resolution. No nickel news out there that should affect market pricing today, and nickel traders so far, are noticing. An interesting article below on tetanus, that while only partially market related, is applicable to all of us. Have a great week!
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $5.97/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – Copper edges higher for second day amid market tightness – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more
• Visualizing EV Sales Around the World – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• (SO) NBS: China’s crude steel output up 9.2 percent in January-February
• Russian metals tycoon Deripaska sues U.S. over sanctions – more
• Steel Giant Guides Earnings Low But Sees This Good News Ahead – more
• Stocks, Bonds Hold Gains at Start of Busy Week: Markets Wrap – more

     Friday’s market review – Uncertainty over China, global growth hits prices, zinc volatile – Most industrial metals prices fell on Friday as uncertainty about trade talks and global growth outweighed Chinese plans to use government levers to underpin growth. – more

      Why Indian Stainless Steelmakers Are Not Worried Over Rising Nickel Prices – Indian stainless steelmakers need not fret over rising nickel prices, thanks to existing low-cost inventory of the key raw material which is enough to cater to consumption for three to four months and expectation of higher demand for the finished products by dealers. – more

      Trading Cobalt and Molybdenum in LME Finishes = New cash futures trading starts and trading structures of some commodities are changed = LME finished trading cobalt and molybdenum by itself on March 8 as LME will start a new cash futures trading this year. From now onward, the cobalt trading price in the Fastmarkets MB will be posted, but molybdenum will be traded in the Platts, and this price won’t be posted in LME. – more

      Russia: flat stainless steel imports up in 2018 – In 2018 Russia imported 309.5 thousand tons of flat corrosion-resistant steel valued at $712 million, up by 10.5% and by 17% YoY respectively. – more

      Huge demand for copper, cobalt, lithium and nickel in the offing as EV uptake increases – Investors focused on the mining sector may not fully appreciate how quickly the electric vehicle (EV) is being adopted globally, in light of the world pursuing a low-carbon emissions future, says battery metals investment vehicle Cobalt 27 Capital chairperson and CEO Anthony Milewski, who warns of a potential deficit in the supply of the metals critical to achieving this future. – more

      Russian stake sales continue with TCS founder’s $150 million deal – The founder of Russian lender TCS Group sold $150 million of its global depository receipts (GDRs) on Thursday, the second time this week that a Russian billionaire has cashed in on an investment amid favorable market conditions. – more

      Cause of cathode degradation identified for nickle-rich materials – Combination of research methods reveals causes of capacity fading, giving better insight to design advanced batteries for electric vehicles – more

      Everything you thought you knew about tetanus is wrong – The conversation in which your parents tell you to keep an eye out for rusty nails is basically a rite of passage. – 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, March 14

• Three month nickel closed Wednesday’s trading session at $5.99/lb . Indicators at 6:20 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.13/lb lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell on Wednesday and now total just over the 192,700 tonne level. After spending a couple of days above the $13,000/tonne level, nickel is trading below that level this morning, as the bulls and bears use the level as the middle of a tug of war battle. At the moment, except for palladium, all other precious and base metals are trading lower, so something has traders in a sour mood this morning. Euro si trading lower this morning, and about back to where it was this time last week, but still higher than earlier this week. China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported industrial output slowed more than expected in January and February, which could signal more economic slowdown in that country. There have been no face-to-face trade talks in the last few weeks between the US and Chinese trade delegations, and President Trump told reporters he was in no rush to reach an agreement. What we see as a positive sign is that neither side is saber rattling – threatening the other side or jockeying for position in the media. In today’s current environment, we see that as very encouraging. Then again, we saw the milk and honey routine tried with the North Koreans and that worked out really well last month, so who knows. Clive Palmer is back in court and is getting media attention from more outlets – some of whom actually believe the press is not only a right to publish, but a right to read as well. This is our final update for the week, so we wish our readers  safe and relaxing weekend and invite you to join us next week. 
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $5.99/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – Zinc eases, but near eight-month top on supply concerns – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• U.S. Futures Rise With Europe Stocks; Pound Drops: Markets Wrap – more

     Wednesday’s market review – Shrinking LME stocks push zinc prices to 8-month high – Zinc prices held close to an eight-month high on Wednesday as sinking stocks of the metal on the London Metal Exchange (LME) market fuelled supply concerns even as inventories grew elsewhere. – more

       Nickel demand growing thanks to EV boom – One of Australia’s largest high-grade nickel producers, Western Areas, reported a significant increase in inbound off-take inquiries for nickel sulphide concentrate post current contract periods. – more

      NPI capacity additions, poor demand for stainless steel lower nickel prices – Last week, shorts weighed the most active SHFE nickel contract from a high since October 2018, to lows around 102,000 yuan/mt, after the US dollar rose and on reports of the start of nickel pig iron (NPI) capacity expansion in China. – more

      Sherritt Defaults on Debt for Ambatovy – On March 7, Sumitomo Corporation made a report that Sherritt International Corporation as a participant in Ambatovy Nickel project in Madagascar did not contribute funding to copayment in spite of the request to the shareholders for contribution from this project and defaulted on its debt. – more

      Crispian does not plan to sell further stake in Russia’s Nornickel – Ifax – Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s company Crispian has no plans at the moment to sell a further stake in mining giant Norilsk Nickel, Interfax news agency cited Crispian co-owner Vladimir Abramov as saying on Thursday. – more

      Clive Palmer’s wife faces Federal Court – Clive Palmer’s wife Anna says her husband was just being comical when he told lawyers for liquidators of one of his businesses that he was her puppet. – more

• Clive Palmer’s elusive wife Anna Palmer forced to testify – 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, March 13

• Three month nickel closed Tuesday’s trading session at $6.00/lb . Indicators at 6:20 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.10/lb lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell on Tuesday and started today just over the 193,100 tonne level. Nickel was able to close above the $13,000 level yesterday, but has fallen below again this morning. It would appear the technical traders, or possibly computers that use the technical signals as trading algorithms, are fighting to maintain this level, while the market as a whole, has turned a tad bearish. The big news of the day is Brexit is on hold apparently, based on what we are reading. We didn’t know how the market would take this. The fact it is delayed in itself is bullish, but markets hate not knowing what is going on, which is bearish. Apparently that uncertainty is trumping the delay and nickel is not alone in its bearish turn today. Lot of media coverage on the trade talks, and 99% of it appears to be speculation and rumor, although US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington on Tuesday that ‘there still are major issues that have to be resolved’.  And speaking of trade, Marietje Schaake, a member of the European parliament, told reporters today “Trust is really at an all-time low.” Down in Australia, former nickel boss Mr Palmer is constantly in the news, but nearly all their news sites charge to read their stories, so we don’t get to share the stories like we have in the past. But he is still there and still making news and we found a free story this morning. At least it was free when we posted it. Back to nickel, it appears the $13,000 level is the war zone for bears and bulls now, so until the market successfully breaks one way or the other, it will remain so.
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $6.01/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – London zinc steady at more than 8-month high; stocks in focus – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more
• U.S. Imports of Stainless Steel Mill Products – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• Brexit’s Now, at Best, a Dream Deferred – more
• Merkel dismisses U.S. threat over Huawei 5G network involvement – more
• Stocks Mixed as Growth Worries Linger; Pound Gains: Markets Wrap – more

     Tuesday’s market review – Copper rises towards 7-month highs on demand optimism – Prices of copper and other base metals rose on Tuesday, helped by a weaker dollar and optimism about demand from China, the largest metals consumer. – more

      Clive Palmer’s Townsville nickel refinery under scrutiny over widespread safety concerns – Documents obtained by 7.30 under Right to Information raise serious safety and maintenance concerns about Clive Palmer’s Townsville nickel refinery, which he is promising to reopen. – more

     ArcelorMittal Steel Shipments Recorded Minor Slump in 2018 – ArcelorMittal- the world’s leading steel and mining company announced publication of its 2018 Annual Report. – more

      Mining’s Dirty Secret Won’t Survive a Changing Climate – Can mining be green? That’s certainly the ambition of some of the biggest companies in the sector. Rio Tinto Group last year became the first major miner to stop digging up coal altogether. – 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, March 12

• Three month nickel closed Monday’s trading session at $5.85/lb . Indicators at 6:15 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.13/lb higher. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell on Monday and started today just under the 193,300 tonne level. Nickel closed below the psychologically important $13.000 tonne level last night, but bulls are apparently not going to allow it to close below support a second consecutive day. Such a close two days in a row would have sent a bearish technical signal to the market, and the bulls are having none of that. We will have to wait and see if they are successful, but in our opinion, unless China trade negotiations sour, the degree of optimism flowing back into the market with a new trade deal, should mute the nervousness being caused by Brexit. In the mean time, without a trade agreement, rumors will fly and markets will fall into stages of volatility based on the believability of said rumors. The steel price index we follow for China has turned choppy since the first of the month, but gaining little. Stainless steel prices in that country are down over 1.1% from last week, but up over 2% from last month, based on another index.
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $6.01/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – London metal prices rise on weaker dollar, Brexit boost – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• LME launches seven new contracts to try to boost volumes, profit – more
• Stocks Extend Gains; Pound Advances on Brexit Hope: Markets Wrap – more

     Monday’s market review – Worries about shortages fuel zinc’s climb towards 7-month highs – Zinc prices rose on Monday towards seven-month highs hit last month, on worries about shortages ahead of the seasonally strong demand in top consumer China and tumbling stocks. – more

      Antam Smelter Gearing up for Second-Half Start – Aneka Tambang (Antam) has set a second-half 2019 start-up date for its ferronickel smelter in Indonesia’s East Halmahera regency. – more

      Can The Good Times Last For Norilsk Nickel? – Norilsk Nickel has been experiencing very good times lately. Its revenues grew by 28% year-over-year, the EBITDA grew by 55% and net earnings increased by 44%. – more

     Reducing the risk of spontaneous glass breakage – Spontaneous glass breakage is known to occur in toughened glass, due to the stabilising of nickel sulphide present in the material. – more

     Mixed signals for China steel and iron ore point to prices drifting lower: Russell – China’s steel and iron ore markets are currently crowded with an overload of information, much of it seemingly pulling prices in opposing directions. – more

      Courtesy AISI – In the week ending on March 9, 2019, domestic raw steel production was 1,941,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 83.4 percent. Production was 1,826,000 net tons in the week ending March 9, 2018 while the capability utilization then was 78.3 percent. The current week production represents a 6.3 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. Production for the week ending March 9, 2019 is up 0.7 percent from the previous week ending March 2, 2019 when production was 1,927,000 net tons and the rate of capability utilization was 82.8 percent. – 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

Monday, March 11

• Three month nickel closed Friday’s trading session at $5.94/lb . Indicators at 6:25 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.02/lb lower. Stockpiles of nickel store din LME approved warehouses fell on Thursday and Friday and start this weeks trading just over the 194,000 tonne level. Nickel bulls got bushwhacked on Thursday and Friday, when Chinese equity markets took a hit, and commodity houses decided to take some profits off the table. The $13,000 level, which provided some resistance just a few weeks ago, is now offering psychological support. If bears can successfully pull the market south of that level again, it could send a very bearish signal to the market. The Euro took a dip against the US Dollar late last week, which didn’t help bulls either. Its back up a tad today, but has a lot of room to make up to get back to where it was last Wednesday. US equity futures are flat this morning as traders analyze positive news from China and also dissect the 60 Minutes interview last night of U.S. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. While Powell downplayed recession fears, he also stated that he feels the days of U.S. economic growth over 3% are probably over thanks to a smaller workforce. Have a great week!
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $6.03/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – Zinc climbs on falling inventories, China lending pledge – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more
• U.S. Exports of Stainless Steel Mill Products – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• Chinese equity plunge leads world stocks lower as growth fears haunt – more
• Stocks Shake Off Dismal Week, Dollar Edges Higher: Markets Wrap – more

     Friday’s market review – Base metals fall on weak trade data from China – Copper fell to a two-week low on Friday after trade data from top consumer China pointed to a slowing economy despite recent stimulus measures, denting demand expectations for base metals. – more

      Indonesia Antam eyes 5.2 mln tonnes nickel ore exports in 2019 – director – Indonesian state miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) is targeting 5.2 million tonnes of nickel ore exports this year and 2.59 million tonnes of bauxite exports, director Tatang Hendra told reporters on Monday  – more

      ISSDA concerns as exporters, importers misusing FTA – ISSDA raised concerns that exporters of stainless steel in several countries are colluding with some Indian importers to misuse the provisions of the ASEAN-India free-trade agreement. – more

     Dry Bulk: A Look Into Nickel Trade – Nickel trade might be a small portion of the dry bulk market, but still it’s one that can bear fruits to savvy dry bulk owners, given the positive market fundamentals. – more

     Vale to invest $US500m in New Caledonian nickel operation – The Brazilian mining company Vale is to invest $US500 million in its nickel operation in New Caledonia. – more

     Billionaires are on the hunt for new underground cobalt – A coalition of billionaires led by Bill Gates has thrown its financial weight behind a startup hoping to build a “Google Maps for the earth’s crust” to hunt for new sources of cobalt. – 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, March 7

• Three month nickel closed Wednesday’s trading session at $6.16/lb . Indicators at 6:20 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.06/lb lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses, for only the fifth time this year, fell by over 1,000 tonnes on Wednesday, and started today just over the 194,600 tonne level. Nickel is lower today on the LME, and in a rare bit of irony, the LME appears to be playing follow the leader to the Shanghai Metals Market, and not the other way around, as it typically is. Shanghai nickel fell by nearly 1% last night, with nickel down about the same already. Nickel did close above resistance last night, but is back below it this morning, setting up a potential negative signal from a purely technical aspect. We really aren’t strong believers in the technical theory as a guide to trading, more of a ‘flip the coin’ way of guess-timating what will happen – with numbers to prove the point when they are right, followed by double talk or silence when they are wrong. We suspect if everyone traded strictly on technicals, then exactly the same number of people would be right on a daily basis and the same number would be wrong and the markets would still react to human fears and greed, and computer algorithms. But that is just our opinion and you know what they say about opinions. Not much in the way of news this entire week. Steel prices in China, which fell sharply in early February, have climbed back to where they were before the New Year holiday began. This is our final update for the week and we hope each of you has a safe and relaxing weekend
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $6.05
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – Shanghai aluminium hits near 3-wk low on China supply glut woes – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more
• U.S. Imports of Stainless Steel Mill Products – more
• U.S. Exports of Stainless Steel Mill Products – more
• USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2019 – pdf here

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• Stocks Drop, Dollar Edges Up as Growth Woes Spread: Markets Wrap – more

     Wednesday’s market review – Aluminium dips on worries about Chinese demand, global growth – Aluminium and other industrial metals drifted lower on Wednesday as investors awaited more signs on whether demand in top metals consumer China would rebound after the Lunar New Year. – more

      European Electric Metals conducts metallurgical testing in nickel-cobalt mine in Albania – Canadian-based European Electric Metals said it is proceeding with metallurgical testing of mineralized material from the Skroska cobalt-nickel laterite mine in Albania’s Elbasan region. – more

      Hunters Road project critical — Masunda – Bindura Nickel Corporation will only consider developing its Hunters Road Project in Gweru when the price of the metal “becomes right”, chairman Muchadeyi Masunda has said. – more

     Russia wants to join Luxembourg in space mining – Russia, a leading producer of natural resources, plans to join Luxembourg in mining for minerals in outer space, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Wednesday. – 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, March 6

• Three month nickel closed Tuesday’s trading session at $6.13/lb . Indicators at 6:20 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.05/lb higher. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell on Tuesday and started today just over the 195,900 tonne level. Nickel jumped hard yesterday, possibly on the news that China had promised big tax cuts to stimulate their economy. Stainless steel prices are on the increase. The price index we follow from China shows stainless steel prices are up over 1-1/2% in the past week, yet remain over 2-1/2% lower than the final quarter of 2018. We show the index is now back to where it was in mid November 2018. Estimated sales of EV vehicles in the US rose in February to 17,200+, but this increase from 16,800+ last February was much smaller than in past months. The decline was possibly weather related as it was a brutal February in many parts of the US. We show resistance at $6.15/lb but that appears to be in jeopardy, so our next point would be around $6.43/lb. The bull is back, at least for now, and if the market has any concerns about Brexit later this month, they are being overshadowed by the possibility that the trade tiff between the US and China may be coming to an end, and that the world’s biggest user of nickel, may be ready to notch it up a gear.
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $6.01/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – Nickel climbs for 4th day on tight stocks, demand recovery – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• Stocks Mixed; Dollar Climbs Along With Treasuries: Markets Wrap – more

     Tuesday’s market review – Copper prices rise as Chinese promises tax cuts and infrastructure – Copper prices rose on Tuesday after top consumer China unveiled economic stimulus measures including tax cuts for manufacturing industry, bolstering the demand outlook. – more

     SLN a focus of New Caledonia political debate – A war of words has erupted among New Caledonia’s politicians over the territory’s key SLN nickel company where a partial strike is entering its third month. – more

     Mine makes money, time to pay tax – RAMU Nickel mine is now in a taxable position and should be able to participate in the new tax credit scheme, National Planning Minister Richard Maru says. – more

     Save the Boundary Waters names former DNR chief as leader – Tom Landwehr brings deep experience with environmental reviews and permitting to the group, the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters. – more

• Ex-DNR chief takes aim at Twin Metals mine project near Boundary Waters – 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, March 5

• Three month nickel closed Monday’s trading session at $6.01/lb . Indicators at 6:25 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading around $.14/lb higher. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell on Monday and started today just over the 196,400 tonne level. It is interesting to read the “reasons’ being peddled for the recent rally. None of it is new news, and merely more than recycled news from last week, month, and year. Considering China was shut down for one week last month, and pretending no other country bought nickel that week, the rate of withdrawal from LME warehouses averaged 340 tonnes per day. Reality would show that number should be a little lower, because only China shut down, not the world. So, since the media is parroting a few analysts who are merely stating facts, not forecasting the second coming of Chicken Little, we remind our readers that 340 tonnes in February (only using 15 working days) compares to 470 tonnes per day in January, and 750 tonnes per day for the first eight months of 2018. The last time we were at 196,000 tonnes of inventory was back in July 2013 and at that time, the price of nickel was around $6.25/lb. So look out nickel users – this market is primed by historical precendent for another quarter rise! How is that for ‘fake news’?  
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – $5.97/lb
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – China metals dip on growth concerns, LME nickel hits 6-mth peak – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• Trump’s U.S.-China Trade Deal May Be a Trade Surrender – more
• China Lowers Growth Target and Cuts Taxes as Economy Slows – more
• Europe Stocks, U.S. Futures Edge Up; Dollar Climbs: Markets Wrap – more
• Tropical Pacific Ocean warms over past fortnight – more

     Monday’s market review – Deficit expectations fuel nickel’s climb to six-month peak – Nickel prices climbed to a six-month peak on Monday as expectations of a fourth consecutive year of supply deficit were reinforced by signs of robust demand from stainless steel mills in China. – more

      Column: Copper is tight but not as tight as LME stocks suggest – The amount of available copper stored in the London Metal Exchange’s (LME) warehouse system fell to 21,600 tonnes last week, the lowest level since 2005. – more

      Future of Nkomati Mine hangs in the balance – African Rainbow Minerals, South Africa’s diversified mining company, is mulling the future of its Nkomati Mine in Mpumalanga, Africa’s biggest nickel producer, after impairing R1billion at the operation in the six months to December. – more

      IIT Roorkee to introduce course on stainless steel – IIT Roorkee and Jindal Stainless have recently entered into a long-term association in order to equip the bright and young minds of the country, who are on the verge of stepping into the industry, with full knowledge about stainless steel and advanced carbon special steel. – more

      Courtesy AISI – In the week ending on March 2, 2019, domestic raw steel production was 1,927,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 82.8 percent. Production was 1,819,000 net tons in the week ending March 2, 2018 while the capability utilization then was 78.0 percent. The current week production represents a 5.9 percent increase from the same period in the previous year. Production for the week ending March 2, 2019 is up 1.0 percent from the previous week ending February 23, 2019 when production was 1,907,000 net tons and the rate of capability utilization was 81.9 percent. – 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

Monday, March 4

• Three month nickel closed Friday’s trading session at $6.01/lb . Indicators at 6:20 am CST today show 3 month nickel trading flat. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses fell on Thursday and Friday and started the week just over the 196,500 tonne level. Nickel jumped on Friday, having closed over the $13,000 tonne level the two consecutive days prior. And while that fact sent the market a positive technical signal, the jump on Friday has muted today. This is not nickel specific, as other base metals are actually lower this morning. Commodity markets could be reacting to a flood of negative purchasing manager index releases on Friday. We track four of the more important (here). While the agreement between China and the US should be the main economic story of the month, at least we hope it is, keep an eye on Europe. Brexit is set to take place at the end of the month and markets hate not knowing what is going to happen. So we expect volatility as we get grow closer to that major unknown. It’s already the third month of the year, and here in the U.S., spring can not come soon enough. We hope you have a great week! 
• Average price of cash nickel so far this month – ($5.74/lb) February average
• Average price of LME traded nickel in in 2018 – $5.95/lb / 2017 – $4.73/lb / 2016 – $4.36/lb / 2015 – $5.37/lb /

  Reports

• Reuters metals morning – Deficit expectations fuel nickel’s climb to six-month peak – more
• Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
• SMM Evening Comments – more

  Commodity/Economic Comments

• China Stainless Steel Scrap Market News / Price – more
• Yieh Daily Asian Stainless Steel News – more
• Baltic Dry Index – (chart)
• Alloyed for Lasting Value video – here
• Self Repairing for Lasting Value video – here
• Mexico eyes fresh U.S. targets for tariffs to pressure Trump over steel – more
• Hot-rolled mess: China’s steelmakers hit the skids as car sales slow – more
• US Iron, Steel Scrap exports up 22% in Nov 2018 – more
• U.S. says rejects WTO’s “straitjacket” of trade obligations – more
• U.S. and China Near Deal That Could End Most U.S. Tariffs – more
• Stocks Rise With Yuan on Optimism for Trade Deal: Markets Wrap – more

      Growth in PH nickel production seen boosting global supply – Global nickel production is seen to continue growing in the coming years with Indonesia and Philippines expected to increase their respective outputs, according to an international research group. – more

     Friday’s market review – Zinc gains on dwindling stocks, others fall on China worries – Zinc rose on Friday on concern about shortages after inventories slid, but other industrial metals were softer after factory activity in top metals consumer China contracted. – more

      Investors spooked by Brazilian Vale’s surprise CEO shake-up – Investors were skeptical on Sunday about the surprise decision by Brazil’s Vale SA to remove its high-profile chief executive in the wake of a deadly January accident at one of the world’s largest iron ore miner’s facilities. – more

     Sherritt Reaches Three Billion Pounds of Nickel Production Milestone  – Sherritt International Corporation (“Sherritt”) (TSX:S), a world leader in the mining and refining of nickel and cobalt from lateritic ores, announced that its refinery in Fort Saskatchewan Alberta has reached three billion pounds of finished nickel production since its operations first began in 1954. – more

      Glencore digs deep in Sudbury – As a long-lived mining jurisdiction, the mines in Sudbury, Ont., are only getting deeper and more expensive to develop. And at less than US$6 per lb. at press time, the price of nickel isn’t exactly soaring. – 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

February Archives

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“A Guide To LME Trading”…pdf here (all ton listings are metric tons = 2204.622 pounds ) Updated Monday thru Thursday before 8 am CST – Disclaimer Original 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.