16 September 2022 – A fire at the Russian nickel producer Nornickel has severely damaged part of the nickel electrolysis department. How has the nickel price developed so far in September 2022? And US consumers still in a buying mood, especially for building materials.
Fire at Russian nickel producer
The world’s largest nickel producer, Nornickel, reported a major fire in the cobalt section of a nickel electrolysis unit in its Kola Division on 14 September.
According to the company, no one was injured and the fire was extinguished in the meantime. Nornickel is still investigating the extent of the damage. Production there had to be stopped for the time being. Video on YouTube
What is nickel doing in September?
Nickel prices have been volatile since the beginning of September, but have risen steadily. The LME nickel 3-month had already risen by about 13.6% to USD 23,400 per tonne on 15 September. On the SHFE, the nickel contract ni2209 has also risen by almost 10% since the beginning of the month.
Spot prices and NPI
Chinese spot nickel prices have risen even more than the futures, by about 14.5%. And nickel pig iron, which is primarily used in Asian stainless steel production, also went up by more than 4.4% in the Chinese market.
Retail Association: US consumers still in a buying mood
As the us National Retail Federation (NRF) recently reported with reference to the U.S. Census Bureau, the buying mood of Americans remains unbroken.
August 2022 sales up 9.1% y-o-y
According to the data from the U.S. Census Bureau, sales rose by around 9.1% year-on-year in August. In July, they had actually picked up by 10.1%.
Building materials +13.4%
Building materials (+13.4% y-o-y) and online and other non-store sales (+12.3% y-o-y) rose particularly strongly.
The NRF sees more new jobs and higher salaries in the United States as the main reason for this.
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