While demand is undoubtedly weak, the nickel market is very unlikely to see another large surplus in 2008. The number of production disruptions has multiplied sharply this year, suggesting that world primary nickel output will struggle to grow by much more than 1-2 percent . As is illustrated in the attached table, more than 55,000t of nickel has been lost so far this year as a result of strike activity, power shortages, maintenance shutdowns, adverse weather conditions and equipment failures.
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