Nickel price hits two-year low
Following international commodity market trends observed at the London Metal Exchange, it appears that nickel recorded a fall of 0.9% to trade at 16,405 US dollars per tonne – its lowest level since April 2021 – before to rebound to 16,405 US dollars, a drop of 0.2%. Experts say this is driven by ongoing concerns about oversupply putting pressure on the market.
To this end, the most traded nickel contract in December on the Shanghai futures exchange closed down 3.2% at 127,720 yuan, equivalent to 17,711.58 US dollars per tonne.
In the same vein, data from the international Nickel Study Group indicates that the global nickel market recorded a surplus of 23,900 tonnes in September, compared to a surplus of 14,200 tonnes in the same month last year. This, it was learned, compares to a surplus of 15,300 tonnes in August 2023.
Overall, over the first nine months of the current year, there was a surplus of 155,000 tonnes of nickel compared to a surplus of 60,500 tonnes for the same period last year.
Furthermore, the global outlook for nickel primary production forecasts an increase of 10.2% in 2023, building on the 5.1% growth observed in 2021 and the strong increase of 17.3% in 2022.
The increase in nickel production is mainly attributed to Indonesia. China is also planning to increase production, particularly of nickel sulfate, to rebound from declines in 2020 and 2021.
Indonesia and China’s combined nickel cast iron production exceeded 1.5 million tonnes in 2022, with a further 7% increase expected in 2023.
