Pt
Almost 25,000 tonnes of nickel left the London Market Exchange (LME) warehouses last week, the biggest decline in the 40-year history of the LME nickel contract. And the record dive continues this week. LME stockpiles have declined further this week, with a record breaking 8,000 tonnes withdrawn from the inventories on Tuesday (LME).
Yesterday, LME nickel inventories stood at 108,000 tonnes (LME) and banks are predicting this to continue to drop to around 75,000 tonnes in coming days (ING as quoted in SP Angel morning notes).
China’s Tsingshan Holding Group Co. the world’s largest stainless steel producer, was believed to be one of the main forces behind this drawdown in LME nickel inventories last week (Bloomberg). The upcoming export ban of nickel ore by Indonesia, due to come into place in January 2020, has led stainless steel manufacturers concerned about supplies and nickel stocks are being bought in bulk at an incredible rate.
The dive down in nickel stockpiles bodes well for those investing in nickel. Whilst stainless steel companies are buying-up nickel, electric vehicle battery manufacturers will also feel the squeeze as they rely more on nickel supplies to fuel the electric vehicle revolution.
Sources:
LME
SP Angel
Bloomberg
