Nickel--Nickel producers fail to keep up with dire demand

摘要

Barely six months since the economic crisis began to bite, many nickel producing operations have been closed and global output of finished nickel was down by 17.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009. What is more, several Greenfield projects and Brownfield expansions have been put on hold or were suspended indefinitely in recent months, thereby trimming the anticipated surge in nickel output to a modest increase this year. Nevertheless, the staggering weakness of demand is evident by the fact that despite the impressive level of output restraint, the nickel market is still lingering in a comfortable surplus. True, the supply-overhang appears to be decreasing and hence the build-up in stocks is expected to become more moderate in the quarters ahead. Yet the trend remains adverse and implies further additions to the already hefty total of more than 100,000t of nickel inventory held in LME warehouses.