The global nickel market is in short supply in the first half of the year

Global demand for nickel exceeded production in the first six months of this year. The global nickel market noted a deficit of 28,000 tons in January-June 2015, with an obvious outweighing of demand over production. According to the latest figures released by the World Bureau of Metals Statistics (WBMS), the surplus for the whole of 2014 was 196,100 tonnes. Statistics show that stocks supported by the LME were higher at the end of June this year compared to the closing level in 2014.

Nickel production

World production of nickel mines amounted to 908.1 thousand tons in January-June 2015, which is 66.4 thousand tons more compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. The export ban by the Indonesian administration led to a decrease in the productivity of mines and the export of nickel ore from the country.

In Russia, in the first half of this year, the production of unprocessed nickel decreased by 2.4 percent compared to the same period in 2014. During July 2015, Russian crude nickel production decreased by 1.6 percent year on year, but increased by 5.7 percent compared to June this year.

Mine production of refined nickel in January-June 2015 amounted to 791 thousand tons. Total nickel production reached 167.2 thousand tonnes in June 2015. Japan's production in the first six months of this year showed a leap from the end of 2014.

Nickel demand

Refined nickel consumption reached 919 thousand tons in January-June 2015. Nickel consumption in June this year was 198.0 thousand tons. The current demand for nickel in Japan was slightly higher, by 2.4 thousand tons, in the period from January to June this year compared to the same period last year. Global demand for nickel in the first half of the year is 61 thousand tons higher than in the previous year.