- Write by:
-
Friday, March 1, 2024 - 22:52:20
-
113 Visit
-
Print
The global nickel market could swing to a surprise deficit this year if growth in Indonesian output is constrained by slow mining permit approvals, according to Macquarie Group Ltd.
While the bank’s base case is for a surplus of less than 40,000 tons, that may be in jeopardy if Jakarta’s approvals are slow and full-year growth in local production dips below 13%, analysts including Jim Lennon said in a note. “This is a major change from our recent forecasts,” they wrote.
Benchmark nickel prices collapsed by 45% last year, driven by massive growth in supply from the Southeast Asian nation, which outstripped faltering demand from the stainless steel and battery industries. Still, permit approvals in Indonesia this year — without which producers may not operate — have been tardy, prompting the government to pledge that they’ll be cleared this month.
Outside Indonesia, stockpiles built up within China last year may also have been smaller than previously estimated given a bigger-than-projected increase in its consumption, the analysts said, citing field research. As a result, the market appears to be closer to balance than previously assessed, they said.
Nickel ore in Indonesia has been trading at a more-than-$7 a ton premium to the government-set minimum selling price, Macquarie said. That would add about $700 a ton to production costs in the country, the bank estimates.
That would present significant relief to miners and smelters elsewhere, with many weighing shutdowns as Indonesia’s massive low-cost production makes them uncompetitive. Septian Hario Seto, the government official who has overseen the country’s nickel-processing boom, said prices are unlikely to rise much above $18,000 a ton on the London Metal Exchange.
Three-month nickel futures fell 1.7% to $17,585 a ton as of 3:45 p.m. on the LME in London, after climbing 10% last month amid the Indonesian permitting delays. Other metals rose, with copper and aluminum up 0.2%.
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/628088
South African diversified miner Sibanye Stillwater is discussing with lenders to temporarily lift limits on borrowings, ...
The Philippines said on Friday it aimed to add three more processing plants in the effort to develop a downstream ...
Canada’s mining industry is pushing for an carveout to the federal government’s proposed increase to capital gains ...
India is considering offering incentives to encourage private companies to set up lithium processing facilities, as New ...
Australia will spend A$566 million ($373 million) over the coming decade to map out resource deposits with a focus on ...
Indonesia’s nickel reserves are sufficient for expanded processing operations, an investment ministry official said on ...
Adani Enterprises Ltd., which posted a 38% fall in quarterly profit, said India’s markets regulator has queried it about ...
The US and the Philippines are in discussions over ways to prevent China from dominating nickel processing in the ...
Glencore expects profit at its trading division this year to be at the top end of its long-term annual guidance, in an ...
No comments have been posted yet ...