Nickel Rises in London After Inventory Drops, Reducing Supply
By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Nickel advanced in London after inventory fell to the lowest since the end of last month, reducing supplies of the metal used to make stainless steel. Copper and aluminum also rose. Stockpiles of nickel tracked by the London Metal Exchange fell 552 metric tons, or 9.6 percent, to 5,172 tons, the exchange said today in a daily report. Stainless-steel makers may need to use inventory amid forecasts that nickel demand will exceed production this year. ``The key thing is LME inventory trends lower,'' Neil Buxton, managing director of London-based GFMS Metals Consulting Ltd., said in a telephone interview. Buxton has tracked industrial metals for about three decades. Nickel for delivery in three months on the LME jumped $650, or 2.4 percent, to $28,300 a ton at 10:34 a.m. local time. It has more than doubled this year and traded at $29,950 on Aug. 22, the highest since at least 1987, based on Bloomberg data. The metal has soared amid expanding production of stainless steel in China, the world's largest producer. Global stainless- steel output jumped 6.5 percent to 13.9 million tons in the first half, the Brussels-based International Stainless Steel Forum said yesterday. Output from China, the largest producer, soared 44 percent to 2.3 million tons, the forum said. Global nickel use will grow 9.5 percent to 1.35 million tons in 2006, beating output by 25,000 tons, Societe Generale forecast last week in a report. `Tight' Supply Supplies of nickel and other LME-traded metals have been ``tight'' and will minimize any price decline, Buxton said. Nickel has fallen 5.5 percent since trading at a record after economic data from the U.S. showed the growth of the world's largest economy is slowing ``The underlying economic concern is still there and is a valid one,'' Buxton said. Copper gained $65 to $7,715 a ton. Stockpiles of copper tracked by the LME increased 475 tons to 122,425 tons, equal to about three days of global consumption. Aluminum was up $5 at $2,539 and lead increased $7 to $1,385. Tin added $35 to $9,060 and zinc increased $37 to $3,445. To contact the reporter on this story: Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in London at cchanjroen@bloomberg.net Last Updated: September 27, 2006 05:39 EDT
|