3 March 2022 – The nickel and aluminium prices have again significantly pulled away today. Already in Asia, futures rose by up to 5%. In Europe, nickel at the start of trading even jumped by almost 10%. Aluminium rose to a record high of over $ 3,700 per ton. The failure of Russia and Ukraine as commodity exporters is driving prices. Zinc, copper and iron ores are also up significantly.
Outlook non-ferrous metals and ferrous metals
According to statistical data, in 2020 Russia was the fourth largest producer of refined copper, the second largest producer of primary aluminium, and the third largest producer of refined nickel in the world. According to Russian Customs, from January to November 2021, Russian copper exports amounted to 440,500 tons, nickel exports to 45,100 tons, and aluminium exports to 3.19 million tons. One of the main export destinations was Europe.
The failure of such an important raw material exporting country as Russia, is likely to trigger further upward movements in the already tight market.
Ukraine: China loses 17% of its iron ore pellets imports
Ukraine, along with Brazil and Sweden, is considered the most important exporter of iron ore pellets. In 2021, 17% of China’s iron ore pellet imports came from Ukraine alone. Chinese analysts believe that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will lead to further increases in iron ore prices.
Strong demand: Iron ore futures jump 8%
Iron ore future prices on the DCE jumped 8% today. The background here is also the uncertain supply of iron ore products from Ukraine, the end of the Winter Olympics in China and the strong economic stimuli from the Chinese government, which should lead to a significant increase in demand, especially in the construction sector. In addition, China is already looking for ways to be able to maintain iron ore supplies beyond 2025, focusing particularly on imports from abroad.
Zinc jumps above $ 4,000 per tonne
Zinc has jumped this morning as expected to over $ 4,000 per ton, or by more than 4% on the LME. But copper is also up more than 3%. From China, also significantly rising prices are reported for aluminium and nickel. In addition, domestic Chinese demand for aluminium on the spot market is rising strongly. With almost 10% in the plus, nickel takes the cake today.
Nickel races up by almost 10%
The price of nickel on the LME has shot up by more than 9.6% at the start of trading this morning. Aluminium is at a record high of over $ 3,700 per ton in London. SHFE nickel is up more than 5% and aluminium futures are up more than 3.7%.
Lates news:
- Slump in Russian raw material deliveries
- Diversification, learnings from pandemic and politics
- New export restrictions against wood, cement, iron and steel
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Disclaimer: Many things here represent our opinion. Others are information from the Internet. We can therefore never claim to be correct or complete. And never base a business decision solely on the news you receive from us.
