Nickel market deficit is growing

Nickel demand has grown by 3.4 percent since the beginning of 2016, while production recorded a slight decline of almost 1 percent. A moderate recovery in global stainless steel production will ease pressure on nickel prices. Growth in demand for long and sheet stainless steel products, stainless seamless pipes at http://lira-metall.ru/truba-nerzhaveyushchaya-besshovnaya indicates an improvement in the situation on the stainless steel market and in Russia.

The global refined nickel market deficit widened to 10,100 tons in April this year from the previous month, according to the latest statistics released by the International Nickel Study Group (INSG). Nickel deficit totaled 7,600 tonnes in March 2016. According to INSG, global primary nickel production was 164,300 tons in April, while consumption was 174,400 tons.

The cumulative market deficit for nickel in the first four months of this year was 7,100 tonnes, compared with a surplus of 19,900 tonnes for the corresponding four-month period in 2015. The latest data indicate significant available reserves. However, INSG predicts that global nickel production will decline from 1983 million tonnes last year to 1,913 million tonnes in 2016.

Meanwhile, most base metals, including nickel, fell on the LME. Nickel prices fell by $ 50 to $ 8,870. At the same time, nickel stocks on the LME also fell sharply by 930 tons to 393,272 tons.

Nickel, after falling 42 percent in 2015, fell another 3.7 percent in the first quarter of 2016, and prices hit a low of $ 7,580 per tonne in February. In the second quarter, amid planned production cuts and higher demand, the likely recovery will be offset by extremely high inventory levels. The metal continued to remain in the $ 8000 - $ 9500 per tonne range in Q2.