- Write by:
-
Friday, December 29, 2023 - 22:19:05
-
105 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - In a mostly lackluster year for metals trading, nickel emerged as the worst performer and might not see a reprieve anytime soon.
The metal used in stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries posted an annual drop of 45% on the London Metal Exchange, the biggest decline since 2008. That’s by far the worst outcome among industrial metals, and contrasts with a 2.2% gain for copper or with iron ore’s advance of about 20% in Singapore.
Metals have been pressured this year by global economic headwinds and uncertainty over China’s growth outlook. The LME’s all-in gauge of six metals is down 5.6% for the year, a second annual decline.
In most cases, concerns over tightening supply or even shortages have proved unfounded or perhaps premature. But those worries were particularly true for nickel, a market that’s been flooded with a wave of new material from top producer Indonesia. Demand growth has also faded.
“Nickel supply continues to grow, but consumption is showing no sign of improvement,” Huatai Futures analysts wrote in a note posted on its website.
Investors continue to bet against nickel. Net-short positions on the metal among the top 20 brokers on the Shanghai Futures Exchange are currently the biggest in at least six months.
Copper’s annual gain comes after a fourth-quarter rebound, helped by optimism that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates next year. Prices will hit $10,000 a metric ton within 12 months, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a Dec. 18 note.
On the final trading day of 2023, copper dropped 0.8% to settle at $8,559 a ton and nickel fell 0.8% to close at $16,603 a ton.
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/627814
Jiang Weiping, the founder of major Chinese lithium producer Tianqi Lithium Corp., resigned as chairman after the ...
BHP Group can’t cherry pick Anglo American assets without paying a hefty premium, Anglo investors told Reuters, ...
Anglo American faced calls from shareholders on Monday to detail plans for improving its value in order to fend off ...
Copper slipped after initially extending gains above $10,200 a ton as traders turned their attention to demand ...
Glencore expects profit at its trading division this year to be at the top end of its long-term annual guidance, in an ...
Iron ore futures prices fell on Monday after weak industrial data in top consumer China and the completion of of ...
Top copper producer Codelco reported a decline in quarterly output due to lower quality ore at its aging Chilean mines — ...
BHP Group Ltd.’s proposal for a $39 billion takeover of rival Anglo American Plc is all about securing plenty of copper ...
When former boss Mark Cutifani left Anglo American Plc in mid-April 2022, things had rarely looked better for the ...
No comments have been posted yet ...