Steel Alloys / Nickel: Market outlook to 2014, 12th edition 2010

The devastating financial crisis that affected the world in 2008/9 has had a wide-ranging impact. As with most commodities, participants in the nickel industry have had to make adjustments. Producers have been forced to make severe cuts to output, while stocks at LME warehouses have been rising steadily. China has proved the exception, with both demand and production rising. Ever increasing demand from emerging markets, coupled with a return to positive growth in the developed world should see stainless steel production increase in 2010 and 2011. Further out, new supplies of nickel will be required to satisfy rising demand. The majority of new projects will mine laterite ores using HPAL technology, which has not always proved reliable. If new projects struggle to find their way onto the market, nickel prices could once again surge to US$50,000/t. Could Chinese nickel pig iron provide the answer?

What the report gives you:

• Independent, in-depth research and analysis
• Essential market intelligence for successful business planning
• Detailed survey of production and processing in 44 countries
• Up-to-date profiles of the activities of 95 producing and processing companies
• Forecasts for end-use consumption, world demand and supply balance and prices

Report Highlights

• World nickel consumption was 1.28Mt in 2008, an annual decline of 3.4% from 2007, adding to the 5.6% year-on-year decline in 2007.  Demand at the world level peaked at 1.4Mt in 2006, and is estimated to decline to around 1.24Mt in 2009.
• As demand for nickel diminished, producers cut output by more than 300,000t.  The world's largest producers, such as Norilsk Nickel, BHP Billiton, Xstrata and ValeInco slashed output across the globe, as mining was either suspended, or care and maintenance work took place.
• According to the INSG, the primary end-uses for nickel are:
• Stainless steel (66%)
• Non-ferrous metal products (12%)
• Plating (7%)
• Steel castings (4%)
• Other alloy steels (5%)
• Other uses (6%)
• Changes in the nickel price have tended to correlate very closely to the level of nickel stocks at the LME.  The LME is considered as the market of last resort.  High levels of stocks at LME warehouse imply a surplus in the market, conversely a shortage of material at the LME implies a market deficit.  A change in stocks provides an indication of stocks in the global market, and as such has a direct impact on the traded price of nickel.