Primary Nickel Market Ended in Deficit During Jan-Sep '18

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The world nickel market reported marginal deficit during the initial nine-month period of the current year. The latest monthly data provided by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) suggests that world apparent demand for nickel metal exceeded production by 33kt. The calculated nickel market deficit had totaled 41.3kt in the whole of the previous year.

The reported metal stocks at the London Metal Exchange (LME) have dropped by 138kt at the end of September this year, as compared with the end-2017 levels. The refined nickel production during Jan-Sep ’18 totaled 1.626 million tonnes, whereas the demand totaled 1.659 million tonnes. The nickel mine production recorded an increase by 181kt over the corresponding nine-month period in 2017 to total 1.686 million tonnes during Jan-Sep ’18.

The apparent demand for nickel surged higher by 134kt over the previous year, mainly on account of surge in Chinese apparent demand by 73kt.

The nickel smelter output totaled 185.7kt in September this year, whereas the consumption totaled 195.4kt. The Chinese smelter/refinery output has increased by 69kt upon comparison with 2017.

The world tin market recorded marginal deficit of 9.7kt during January to September this year. The zinc market deficit widened to 52.3kt during this period. The lead market recorded deficit of 138kt during Jan-Sep ’18. The global aluminum and copper markets too recorded deficits during the initial three quarters of 2018, said WBMS data.