World nickel market in abundance

Global nickel production exceeded demand in the first five months of this year, and the global nickel market was at a surplus of 19,000 tonnes in January-May 2015. For 2014, the total surplus was 196,100 tons, according to the latest data published by the World Bureau of Metals Statistics (WBMS). The statistics also show that the supported reserves reported by the London Metal Exchange LME at the end of May this year were 51,000 tonnes higher than their 2014 close.

Nickel production
World production of nickel mines amounted to 832.4 thousand tons in January-May 2015, which is 25.10 thousand tons higher compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. The Indonesian administration's ban on exports has led to a decrease in the output of unprocessed ore from the country. Production of refined nickel in January-May amounted to 734 thousand tons. In Japan, during the first five months of the year, there was an increase of 8.68 thousand tons compared to 2014.

Nickel demand
Refined nickel consumption was at the level of 715 thousand tons in January-May 2015. In May of this year, the consumption of smelting nickel amounted to 167.0 thousand tons. Nickel demand in Japan was marginally higher, by 0.8 thousand tons, in the period from January to May this year compared to the previous year. Global demand for nickel during January-May 2015 was 7.1 thousand tons lower than in the previous year.