Forecast for Nickel
Reuter reported that nickel fell to a 9 months low as weak demand from the stainless steel sector prompted investors to cut their positions, while lead was up 3% on speculative buying.
Nickel has lost some 40% since early May 2007, when it hit a record high of USD 51,800, after major stainless steel producers announced production cutbacks.
Stocks of nickel stand at 15,138 tonnes their highest level since June 2006 and compared with around 3,000 tonnes in February.
The recent decline in nickel prices is likely to ease after the Summer, which should help to stabilise the stainless market by early 2008. Nickel prices moved lower in July & fell further sharply. The avg nickel price for the month of July is likely to be lesser than that of Avg price during the month of June 07 by approx USD 8,500 per tonne.
The price of nickel is further likely to decline below the psychological figure of USD 30,000 per tonne in August as stocks on the LME continue to rise. The prices may fall even further. However, the prices of nickel may become stable later this year as production cuts from stainless steel producers over the Summer months come to an end.
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