Stainless Steel News and Nickel Prices, Molybdenum, Metal Pricing, Ferrochrome
Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing
- Nickel closed Thursday’s trading session at
$5.99/lb
($13,200/tonne). Indicators at 6:50 am CST today show nickel trading around $.03/lb lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses went unchanged on Thursday and for a third consecutive day, started the trading day just under the 234,700 tonne level. Nickel closed lower sharply yesterday. It is possible that some of the recent run has been fueled by nickel following copper, which is benefiting by stronger demand in China, with a covid outbreak affecting supply from the worlds largest supplier, Chile. Nickel, however, is not suffering the supply disruptions, nor are LME inventory numbers reflecting any noticeable increase in demand. That’s not to say things aren’t getting better in China; they just aren’t putting any additional pressure on the supply lines – yet. So, we are having a hard time finding a reason for this last bullish spike. Even China seems to be back peddling as Shanghai nickel closes lower for a second day. Whatever the reasons, if they remain above the $13,000/tonne level we could see more stainless steel price increases in the near future. We made it another week, and it looks like a hot weekend ahead for many of us. Please stay safe, and try to make it a memorable one with the ones you love. That’s a good memorable, mind you, one that you can look back on with a smile when we crawl out of this covid nightmare. - Average price of LME traded cash nickel so far this month – $5.94/lb
- LME nickel chart – here / Euro/US Dollar chart – here
Reports
- Reuters metals morning – no story filed
- Reuters Daily Inside Metals – pdf here
- SMM Evening Comments – here
- Barchart 304 Stainless Steel Scrap Index – $.2536/lb
- SHFE Stainless Steel Futures – 13,510
- U S Monthly Wholesale Trade – pdf here
- Metalforming Magazine – July 2020 – online here
- The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth in the 2nd quarter of 2020 is -35.5% on July 9 – more
| Coronavirus By The Numbers – here Coronavirus by John Hopkins – here CDC Cases in the US – here Coronavirus Recovery Tracker – more Resurgence – how is your state faring? – more US Economy Stumbling as Pandemic Worsens – more
Tracking the spread of the novel coronavirus – more 9 July 2020 Alan Oster Podcast – Coronavirus and the economy – more ‘Unknown pneumonia’ deadlier than coronavirus sweeping Kazakhstan, Chinese embassy warns – more While the US is seeing record high daily new covid cases, it is recording far less fatalities. From a high of 2,255 (7 day average high in April 21), we saw a 7 day average of 625 deaths yesterday. That’s the good news. The bad news is that average of 625 is up from 517 on July 6th. The last time we saw the seven day average rise that fast in three days was between April 14 to April 17, when we were seeing the death rate in America peaking. The last three days average? 947 deaths per day. For perspective…. in 1972, America suffered its worst year of traffic fatalities in history. That year, we averaged 150 deaths a day. Four years prior, Congress had passed a law mandating seat belts be put in all vehicles (except buses). There was no law requiring their use until New York required their use in 1984. By 2018, the average death toll for car crashes was down to an estimated 100 a day. Why is “Slow down and buckle up” not political, while “Six feet and mask up” is? |
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
Thursday’s market review – Copper hits 14-month high on China demand, Chile supply cuts – Copper prices hit their highest in over a year on Thursday, spurred by hopes of a faster recovery in top consumer China and supply concerns in the world’s biggest producer Chile. – more
Taiwan’s stainless steel prices to increase due to rising nickel price – Stimulated by high nickel prices, Taiwanese stainless steel distributors increased their quotations these days. – more
Trading volumes show a metals world that is out of synch: Andy Home – It’s been a good couple of months for the Shanghai Futures Exchange . – more
London Metal Exchange begins push for transparency on metal inventories – The London Metal Exchange on Thursday started its push for more transparency on metal availability by publishing, for the first time, stocks of metal in its global storage network that could be put on warrant and traded on the exchange. – more
China boosts metal scrap imports after policy change – BIR – China’s Solid Waste & Chemicals Management Centre, part of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China, has published details of its ninth batch of scrap import quotas for 2020, which allows for considerably higher import quantities than in recent months, following a policy change, according to an International Recycling Bureau BIR report July 9. – more
- China’s June refined nickel output rises 10.8% year on year: Antaike – more
Russia’s Nornickel fights cover-up accusations over Arctic oil spill – Pressure is mounting on Russian mining company Norilsk Nickel over an Arctic oil spill that has wiped about 17% off its share price, left it with a hefty compensation bill and exposed it to accusations of covering up the full extent of the damage. – more
Chinese nickel company promises to hire 5,000 locals amid backlash – Chinese-backed mining company PT Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry (VDNI) has promised to hire 5,000 locals amid protests over the employment of 500 Chinese workers for nickel smelter projects in Konawe regency, Southeast Sulawesi. – more
ESG and mining: sustainability after coronavirus – As the world battles the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic fallout, industries of all types face the urgent challenge of securing their short-term financial future. – more
AISI Releases June SIMA Imports Data – Based on the Commerce Department’s most recent Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported today that steel import permit applications for the month of June totaled 2,003,000 net tons (NT). – more
Other News
- Reuters The Day Ahead – pdf here
- Global Markets: Stocks succumb to shutdown fears but China charges on – more
- U.S. Futures Slide on Virus Spike; Treasuries Jump: Markets Wrap – more
Morning Nickel Prices
- Yesterday’s LME official prices here
- Shanghai Jinchuan nickel price – here
- Shanghai Futures Exchange Stainless – here
- India MCX Nickel Price – more
- Baltic Dry Index – chart