Nickel Falls on LME After Stimulus Doesn’t Help China

Nickel slipped today on the London Metal Exchange after record inventories showed that expected shortages had failed to appear.

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A plunge in China’s imports demonstrated that Asia’s largest economy is losing momentum despite stimulus measures.

The cash price of primary Indian nickel closed as the biggest mover for Friday, February 6. Switching from a downward trend, the metal closed at INR 939.10 ($15.21) per kilogram following a 0.7% increase. On the LME, the 3-month price of nickel fell 0.7% to $14,895 per metric ton. The spot price of nickel saw a 0.6% decline on the LME to $14,830 per metric ton.

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Chinese stainless steel prices were mixed for the day. The price of Chinese ferro-chrome continues hovering around CNY 10,950 ($1,751) per metric ton for the fifth day in a row. Chinese ferro-moly saw little change in its price last Friday at CNY 82,000 ($13,114) per metric ton.

The price of Chinese primary nickel gained 0.4% to finish at CNY 109,000 ($17,431) per metric ton. The Allegheny Ludlum 316 stainless surcharge was unchanged at $0.94 per pound. The price of Chinese 316 stainless coil saw little movement at CNY 23,700 ($3,790) per metric ton. The price of Chinese 304 stainless coil held steady at CNY 16,700 ($2,671) per metric ton. Chinese 316 stainless steel scrap stayed flat at around CNY 13,050 ($2,087) per metric ton.

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