Nickel has been in the throes of a long bear market, but there are reasons to be optimistic about a price bounceback for this industrial metal.

According to a recent report from the Financial Times, demand from China and the electric car battery market heating up could spur a nickel price boost in the coming months.

However, investors should still exercise caution.

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“True, there are plenty of negatives out there,” writes Alan Livsey for the Financial Times. “Supply growth from smelters in China and Indonesia has yet to abate. Forced destocking from end users and traders has made matters worse. Goldman Sachs expects net supply growth will nearly triple in 2018 from the estimated 37,000 tonnes this year.”

Livsey added if supply can be curtailed and demand grows as projected, nickel’s once low reputation with investors could see a significant change in direction.

Are Commodities as a Whole ‘Losing their Roar’?

Our own Irene Martinez Canorea recently wrote how June has not been particularly kind to metal producers, beginning with the U.S. Federal Reserve spiking interest rates up by 0.25%.

She writes: “The most recent Fed rate hike breathed a little life into the dollar, which has fallen for most of this year. We believe this could have a direct impact on the metals industry — namely, causing prices to fall.”

How will nickel and base metals fare in 2017? You can find a more in-depth nickel price forecast and outlook in our brand-new Monthly Metal Buying Outlook report.

For a short- and long-term buying strategy with specific price thresholds:

Join MetalMiner‘s Lisa Reisman, Ecovadis‘ Daniel Perry and Jaggaer‘s Roger Blumberg as they share how to bolster your organization in these times of uncertainty in the following ways:

• Quickly drawing up a model of a company’s parts and bill of materials to identify areas in need of support and glean insight into the negotiation process
• Managing the lifecycle relationship of parts, products, and suppliers
• Reducing risk and improve agility in the MRO supply chain while more reining in small dollar spend

And much more — Join us on June 27th at 12pm EDT/9am PDT for the FREE WEBINAR:

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MetalMiner just reported that the Trump administration, in its efforts to curb imports it maintains are harmful to U.S. industry, may just have injected more volatility into the landscape for domestic manufacturers.

The European Union is worried about a “trade policy readjustment” from President Trump’s team, which could evidently include tariffs placed on the bloc’s metals and materials imported into the U.S.

The Section 232 investigation has mainly put China and its imports into the crosshairs, but now the EU is concerned that these new tariffs would “unjustifiably hit” EU nations, according to Cecilia Malmström, the EU trade commissioner.

What does this mean for U.S. manufacturers — and will events such as this affect how you should be managing your organization’s (and your suppliers’) commodity risk?

Find Out in a Free Webinar Tomorrow

Join MetalMiner‘s Lisa Reisman, Ecovadis‘ Daniel Perry and Jaggaer‘s Roger Blumberg as they share how to bolster your organization in these times of uncertainty in the following ways:

• Quickly drawing up a model of a company’s parts and bill of materials to identify areas in need of support and glean insight into the negotiation process
• Managing the lifecycle relationship of parts, products, and suppliers
• Reducing risk and improve agility in the MRO supply chain while more reining in small dollar spend

And much more — Join us on June 27th at 12pm EDT/9am PDT for the FREE WEBINAR:

2017 has seen no shortage of uncertainty when it comes to manufacturing policy.

For example, with the Section 232 investigation is in full swing, other issues remain on deck. From the Dodd-Frank conflict minerals rule getting repealed, to potential changes in visa requirements, the landscape is littered with unpredictable twists and turns.

That’s why getting smart on the following is crucial for your manufacturing organization — not just today, but well into the future:

• Optimizing supplier management to accommodate new suppliers and streamline complex qualification processes such as PPAP, product testing, and more
• Quickly drawing up a model of a company’s parts and bill of materials to identify areas in need of support and glean insight into the negotiation process
• Managing the lifecycle relationship of parts, products, and suppliers
• Leveraging best-in-class minerals traceability processes and programs to further enhance CSR initiatives
• Reducing risk and improve agility in the MRO supply chain while more reining in small dollar spend

MetalMiner‘s Lisa Reisman, Ecovadis‘ Daniel Perry and Jaggaer‘s Roger Blumberg are set to share the tools for all of the above, to bolster your organization in these times of uncertainty.

Join us on June 27th at 12pm EDT/9am PDT for the FREE WEBINAR:

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The International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) released preliminary data for this year, which showed the global market for refined zinc metal was in deficit during the first four months of the year. Total reported zinc inventories also declined during that time.

The ILZSG report stated that world zinc mine production grew 7.3% for the first four months of 2017 compared to the same time last year, mostly due to increased output in China, India, Peru, Turkey and Eritrea.

Want a short- and medium-term buying outlook for aluminum, copper, tin, lead, zinc, nickel and several forms of steel? Subscribe to our monthly buying outlook reports!

Furthermore, growth in refined zinc metal production in France, Kazakhstan and India were offset by reductions in Peru, Canada and the Republic of Korea, leading to an overall worldwide increase of 1.6%.

Worldwide refined zinc metal demand grew 3.7% during this time frame, mostly due to a 42.9% recovery in apparent usage in the U.S.

China’s Effect on Zinc Prices

The ILZSG report stated: “China imported a total of 385kt of zinc contained in zinc concentrates, an increase of 58kt compared to the same period of 2016. Chinese net imports of refined zinc metal amounted to 99kt, a decrease of 114kt.”

How will zinc and base metals fare in 2017? You can find a more in-depth zinc price forecast and outlook in our brand-new Monthly Metal Buying Outlook report.

For a short- and long-term buying strategy with specific price thresholds:

Macro photo of a piece of lead ore

The International Lead and Zinc Study Group (ILZSG) released its findings for June, showing global refined lead metal demand exceeded supply during the first four months of the year.

Want a short- and medium-term buying outlook for aluminum, copper, tin, lead, zinc, nickel and several forms of steel? Subscribe to our monthly buying outlook reports!

In addition, the ILZSG report revealed total reported stock levels increased during that same time frame. An increase in worldwide lead mine production, to the tune of 13% year-over-year (compared to the first four months of 2016), is primarily the result of increased production in China.

Furthermore, a global refined lead metal output increase of 8.4% can be attributed to India, China and the United States.

The ILZSG report states: “A sharp rise in net imports was the main influence on an increase in US apparent demand of 22.8%. There was also a strong rise in Chinese apparent usage of 16.4%. European demand increased by a more modest 1.5% with overall global demand up by 11.15%.”

How will lead and base metals fare in 2017? You can find a more in-depth lead price forecast and outlook in our brand-new Monthly Metal Buying Outlook report.

For a short- and long-term buying strategy with specific price thresholds:

Tin prices continue to suffer with Chinese competition and Shanghai trading counteracting limited supply on the London Metal Exchange (LME).

Generally speaking, limited supply of a commodity should translate to a rise in price — this has not been the case for tin.

In a recent opinion piece for Bloomberg, Shelley Goldberg, founder and principal at Invest-with-Purpose, writes that despite tin inventory at LME warehouses reaching 20-year lows, prices are also down, to the tune of more than 5% since the start of the year.

Want a short- and medium-term buying outlook for aluminum, copper, tin, lead, zinc, nickel and several forms of steel? Subscribe to our monthly buying outlook reports!

The reason? Goldberg writes that exchange trading competition from China is to blame.

Goldberg writes: “Low inventory levels have also historically resulted in an increase in both volume and open interest; however, for LME tin they have been falling, too. Average LME daily tin volumes this year slipped by 14 percent from January to April, compared with the same period a year earlier. On an annual basis they fell 7 percent in 2016 and 31 percent in 2015. Open interest has also been declining, totaling 16,152 lots at the end of April, compared with 22,563 lots a year earlier.”

Reconciling the SFE and LME

She added that LME is no longer the exclusive exchange for data and information on the metals markets, as the Shanghai Futures Exchange is now challenging its monopoly.

Goldberg concludes: “The bottom line is that attempting to arbitrage LME and Shanghai tin is not as easy as it may seem (different currencies, contract sizes, terms, and so on). But suffice it to say, assessing the tin markets from a more global perspective will undoubtedly provide a better perspective not only on the tin market, but on the world’s economy.”

How will tin fare in 2017? You can find a more in-depth tin price forecast and outlook in our brand-new Monthly Metal Buying Outlook report. For a short- and long-term buying strategy with specific price thresholds:

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Copper prices rallied late last week on the heels of severe weather striking several South American mines, as well as labor issues cropping up in Indonesia.

According to a report from MarketWatch, copper prices climbed 1.12% to $5,688 per metric ton on the London Metal Exchange last Thursday morning.

Want a short- and medium-term buying outlook for aluminum, copper, tin, lead, zinc, nickel and several forms of steel? Subscribe to our monthly buying outlook reports!

Copper had previously opened the month on the low end, but unexpected weather and labor issues quickly reversed that trend:

“Those mine disruptions in Chile are the major supply-side news this week,” BOCI Global Commodities’s Xiao Fu told the news source.

In China, import data revealed an 8.5% month-over-month increase in refined copper imports.

“That increase is a fairly substantial one and is helping prices rebound after being beaten up over the past few weeks,” ETF Securities strategist Nitesh Shah told the news source.

Copper Prices Affected by Chinese Demand

The MetalMiner Copper MMI remained steady in June. Writes our own Irene Martinez Canorea:

“Currently, copper prices are directly affected by Chinese demand, as well as by uncertainty in supply. This downtrend in copper prices might be just a brief pause in a dynamic market. Thus, copper-buying organizations should watch the market closely, looking for a possible uptrend that would show a recovery.”

How will copper and base metals fare in 2017? You can find a more in-depth copper price forecast and outlook in our brand-new Monthly Metal Buying Outlook report. For a short- and long-term buying strategy with specific price thresholds:

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Aluminum exports from Qatar hit a roadblock, and it could be some time before the situation is resolved.

According to a recent Reuters report, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar, leading to an aluminum manufacturing plant, partly owned by Norway’s Norsk Hydro, to seek other routes for export.

Want a short- and medium-term buying outlook for aluminum, copper, tin, lead, zinc, nickel and several forms of steel? Subscribe to our monthly buying outlook reports!

The reason for top Arab nations breaking ties with Qatar? Alleged support of Islamic militants, which Qatar denies.

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European steelmakers are coming together to fight a common enemy: EU carbon reforms.

According to a recent report from Reuters, steelmakers across the continent are writing EU leaders, emphasizing they not burden the industry with what they feel are superfluous carbon emission regulation costs. Such costs, they argue, would put them at a competitive disadvantage with their global peers as well as increase the risk of job cuts and plant closures.

“You can avoid burdening the sector with high costs that will constrict investment, or that will increase the risk of job losses and plant closures in the EU,” the CEOs say in an open letter, obtained by Reuters, dated May 28, to EU heads of state and government.

Want a short- and medium-term buying outlook for aluminum, copper, tin, lead, zinc, nickel and several forms of steel? Subscribe to our monthly buying outlook reports!

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