Nornickel cut global nickel oversupply forecast

Since the beginning of the year, the LME nickel price has risen from $16,000/t only to over $20,000/t. This was caused by many factors. Firstly, a number of high-cost nickel producers, mainly in Australia and New Caledonia, have suspended production due to the low-price environment and negative margins. Secondly, there have been ongoing delays with mining permit renewals in Indonesia. And thirdly, the scale of the nickel market surplus appeared to be lower than expected because of considerable underestimation of primary nickel use in China. As a result, LME nickel jumped by around 25% since the beginning of the year.

In 2024, Nornickel expect the nickel market to sustain a surplus of around 100 kt Ni (vs 190+ kt forecasted for the year in the previous issue of our report), with the most of it still represented by low-grade nickel.

• [Editor:邢亚敏]