Nickel
Surges to Highest in Seven Years as Supply Dwindles
Nickel
prices surged to their highest level in seven years in London on fears that
supplies of the key industrial metal will dwindle as the pandemic recedes,
failing to meet resilient demand from reopening economies.
Vale SA,
one of the world largest nickel producers, cut its production forecast for this
year because of a strike at its Canadian mines. MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC, the
world largest producer of refined nickel, reported a drop in third-quarter
production. The Philippines is the world second-largest producer of the metal,
which is used in kitchen appliances and batteries for electric cars. The
country says production this year could be 10% below the annual average, hit by
more frequent rains and fewer ships.
Nickel
for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange rose 4.6 percent to
$20,963 a tonne as of 5.53 pm local time, its highest level since May 2014.
"Buying
picked up during the session amid supply pressure from vale lower production
guidance, a weak Norilsk production report and vale shutdown of its Once Puma
mine in Brazil," Said Michael Cuoco, head of hedge fund metals and bulk
materials sales at StoneX Group.
Softer
Chinese nickel pig iron and refined nickel production data for September, as
well as political export noise in Indonesia and the return of bad weather in
the Philippines, also boosted prices, he said. Nickel pig iron is a cheaper
alternative to refined nickel, which is used to make stainless steel, the metal
biggest end-use.
Vale
said Tuesday that it could produce 165,000 to 170,000 tons of nickel this year,
down from a previous estimate of 200,000 tons. A day earlier, the Brazilian
mining giant said its Onca Puma mine had again been suspended by a court.
Nickel
production in the first three quarters of the year fell 23% from a year earlier
to 129,858 tons, according to a statement from Nornickel.
The
jump in the price of nickel in London to its highest level in seven years has
also had an impact on the inconel metal
The
prospect of reduced supply has emerged in recent months as demand for stainless
steel has improved as the aerospace and oil and gas industries have rebounded
from the nadir of COVID-19 last year. The pandemic has led to a continued
logistics downturn, with shipping congestion in the Atlantic, Pacific and
Indian basins, making it harder for consumers to access raw materials such as
nickel.
Expectations
of less nickel from Indonesia, a major supplier, also helped drive prices
higher. The Southeast Asian country said last month it planned to ban or export
semi-finished products used to make stainless steel to keep more stainless
steel in the country and support a domestic industry focused on electric car
batteries.
Indonesia
has been reversing its policy since it first imposed a ban on unprocessed
mineral exports in 2014, According to Allan Ray Restauro, a BloombergNEF
analyst, in a report. In 2017, Exports were allowed again, but only by
companies that own and operate smelters. The export ban was subsequently
brought forward by two years, to 2020.
BloombergNEF
expects nickel prices to remain above $18, 000 a ton, although the metal will
continue to underperform copper and aluminum.
Wudenalloy
offers high-quality Hastelloy, Incoloy®, Inconel®, Monel ®, duplex stainless
steel, nickel and Other Alloys.
If you
are looking for nickel, nickel-metal alloy, high-temperature alloy or inconel
metal, please send an email to sales@wudenalloy.com,
feel free to contact us, we will reply to you within 2 hours.
The
global competitive landscape of the inconel metal
Nickel
alloy is mainly used in electronic and electrical products in the household
field, and inconel metal is mainly used in TV manufacturing and household
appliance manufacturing. The global nickel alloy market demand is increasing
rapidly, and the development prospect is good. The nickel alloy strip
processing industry is in the replacement stage of the old industry and new
industry, and the market opportunity is good.
Once
predicted copper alloy lead frame strip will completely replace nickel alloy
lead frame strip situation, currently, through the market inconel metal
screening classification, it shows that nickel alloy cannot completely replace,
and has basically formed nickel alloy accounted for 20%, copper alloy accounted
for 80% of the proportion. In recent years, with the miniaturization of
integrated circuits, the application of nickel alloy strip is expanding due to
their special properties.
Driving
force of nickel-based alloy material inconel metal
Take
China as an example, the localization level of nickel-based alloy materials is
low, so there is a great opportunity for the inconel metal. But so far, metal
functional materials for the color tube are basically imported, and the
localization rate of color tube materials is less than 10%, which provides
development space for the development of China precision alloy industry. High
precision alloy strip has been included in the high-tech projects encouraged by
the state, so there will still be a large amount of nickel alloy strip for
picture tube TV. Secondly, nickel-base alloy material is irreplaceable in the
TV industry. The Color TV industry is one of the most marketized industries in
the home appliance industry, even compared with any industry in the economic
field. The disordered competition of low price strategy makes the color TV
industry as a whole enter the era of low profit.
The
price of nickel-base alloy inconel metal fluctuates greatly and becomes the
main competition point
Nickel
and nickel alloy strip as an important metal material has a strong ability to
add value, with the development of the global economy for nickel alloy strip
demand increasingly strong, product prices will fluctuate with the development
of the market. Wudenalloy Co., Ltd., ISO 9001 certified, is the world leading
supplier of corrosion-resistant and high-temperature resistant specialty
materials, specializing in the production of nickel alloys for more than 10
years serving some of today most critical industries. Our team of experienced
experts works with aerospace, petroleum, chemical, natural gas, heat treatment,
power generation and related industries to provide efficient pipeline
components and value-added services.
Wudenalloy
offers high-quality Hastelloy, Incoloy®, Inconel®, Monel ®, duplex stainless
steel, nickel and other alloy materials. These materials can be made into bars,
plates, pipes, flanges, valves, forgings and other forms to meet the needs of
our customers. Feel free to contact us. Wudenalloy is
your trusted supplier of special alloy materials.
What are
the industry requirements for inconel metal?
Pure
nickel is generally used in chemical equipment corrosion resistant structural
parts, precision instruments, electronic tubes and radio equipment parts and
other fields, high purity nickel N4 in electrolytic, electroplating and other
industries have a large demand, mainly for the wide medium-thick plates.
Ultra-pure nickel is used in areas such as batteries.
Nickel-based
superalloy has good resistance to high temperature, corrosion or some specific
environment adaptability. Although the new increment of the nuclear power
industry fluctuates greatly each year, it still maintains the trend of growth
in the long run. In the nuclear power equipment manufacturing industry, the
superalloy material inconel metal has an irreplaceable role due to its
excellent characteristics of high-temperature resistance and high strength
resistance and is mainly used in the nuclear island that undertakes nuclear
reaction work.
Ti-Ni
shape memory alloy is widely used in human heart stents, dental orthodontics
and other fields. With the gradual deepening of r&d investment in the medical
device industry, the technological innovation and material application of
medical device products have developed rapidly. For shape memory alloy, the
demand scale of high-tech materials such as inconel metal shows an obvious
upward trend, while the demand scale of emerging industries such as aerospace,
automobile and robot also shows a rapid growth trend.
The inconel
metal high quality supplier
Wudenalloy has focused on the
production and manufacture of nickel alloys for more than ten years. We are a
principal worldwide supplier of corrosion-resistant alloy and other superalloy
metals. We have a professional technical team and after-sales service, so we can
offer high-quality Hastelloy®, Incoloy®, Inconel®, Monel®, Duplex Stainless
Steel and other alloy material. These materials are available in bar,
sheet&plate, pipe&tube, flange, forging, and other forms to meet the
needs of our customers. If you are looking for inconel metal, please send an
email to sales@wudenalloy.com, feel
free to contact us. Wudenalloy is your trusted supplier of special alloy
materials.