European customers are stockpiling stainless steel in an attempt to avert later-season price increases, driving the price of nickel and its demand up further. Outokumpu Oyj (HEL:OUT1V) recently delivered 4,000 tons of it to a uranium mining project in Namibia. Meanwhile, Norilsk (LONDON:MNODl) and BHP Billiton (NYSE:BBL) are looking to sell some of their mines while nickel prices remain high. Conversely, Glencore Xstrata (OTC:GLCNF) is trying to reopen one of its closed nickel mines in the Dominican Republic.
Nickel and the companies that produce it must feel like the most popular relative during the holidays. It’s nice to have relatives fight over you. The boom shows no sign of ending soon, either, as the Indonesian ore ban will not be eased by domestic production until later this year.
The week’s biggest mover on the weekly Stainless MMI® was the 3-month price of nickel, which saw a 1.4 percent increase on the LME to $19,090 per metric ton. This comes on the heels of a 4.2 percent decline the week prior. The spot price of nickel rose 1.4 percent on the LME to $19,000 per metric ton after falling 4.7 percent during the previous week. The cash price of primary Indian nickel rose 1.0 percent to INR 1,133 ($19.16) per kilogram after falling 2.8 percent during the previous week.