World Nickel Market Recorded Surplus Till February

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The production of nickel exceeded apparent demand for the metal during the initial two-month period of 2020, thereby resulting in a surplus market. The most recent data published by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) suggests that world nickel market ended in a marginal surplus of 20.1kt in Jan-Feb ‘20.

The reported stocks of the metal at the London Metal Exchange (LME), as at end-February this year were higher by 82.1 kt , when compared with the end-2019 level. The refined metal production during January to February this year totalled 366.2 kt, whereas the demand totalled 346.1 kt. The mine production surged higher by 51 kt over the previous year to 409 kt during the first two months in 2020.

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The world apparent demand for nickel surged marginally higher by 6 kt year-on-year. The Chinese apparent demand too was up by 8 kt than in the previous year.

The monthly smelter/refinery output of nickel totalled 183.1 kt in February 2020. At the same time, monthly consumption totalled 172.1 kt.

The WBMS data also suggests that world tin market recorded a marginal deficit 1.2 kt during this period. The global reported production of the refined metal dipped by 5 kt. The worldwide zinc market was in surplus by 123.1 kt until February in 2020, with global refined output edging higher by 8.4%. Lead market recorded deficit of 25 kt. The total stocks of the metal were down by 6 kt than end-2019 levels, said WBMS report.