On Feb 23, 2021 investing.com and author Abhishek Bansal, published an interesting article on the further development of nickel prices. As nickel is an important influencing factor in stainless steel production, we would of course not want to deprive you of this.
Nickel price holds above $19,000
Nickel prices are currently (as of February 23, 2021) holding near their highest level since 2014 at $19,482 amid increasing economic optimism in the U.S. and China.
Global economic data positive
Monday’s global economic data was positive for metals demand and nickel prices. The U.S. Jan Chicago Fed National Activity Index unexpectedly rose +0.25 to 0.66, against expectations of -0.02 to 0.50. Germany’s IFO Business Climate Index for February also rose +2.1 to a 4-month high of 92.4, against expectations of 90.5.
Read also:
- Market rally for base metals: Tin, copper and nickel up
- Critical: No, stainless steel prices are not falling
- Nickel jumps over 4% due to weak dollar and strong demand
- The future is bright for nickel exploration due to a commodity price super cycle
- No agreement on nickel export ban: EU and Indonesia talks fail
Chinese refined nickel imports fall sharply
Meanwhile, Chinese refined nickel imports fell 32% year-on-year to 130,700 tons in 2020, according to the latest Reuters report. It was the lowest annual volume since 2014. China is buying a lot of raw material and leaving the refined market undisturbed, so refined imports are falling.
China is buying more and more Indonesian nickel pig iron in return
It is observed that China’s stainless steel sector absorbs more Indonesian nickel pig iron (NPI). China’s refined metals imports fell last year, but NPI is booming, rising 80% to 3.4 million tons in 2019. The flow of Indonesian NPI into China’s stainless steel sector increased from just 600,000 tons in 2018 to 2.7 million tons in 2020.
What else does it say?
Furthermore, the article elaborates on base metal price trends and nickel stocks on the London Metal Exchange.
Other key takeaways from the article include, “Nickel prices are likely to trade firm while above key support levels of $19,180 and $18,851 while key resistance levels are seen around $20,436 and $20,765.”
Source: Abhishek Bansal, investing.com
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