MCX HNI NICKEL UPDATE
Nickel hit three-week high after Philippines orders mine closures
As per MCX www.crudeoperator.com intraday research Mumbai base company report for :
Nickel prices hit three-week highs on Thursday after the Philippines ordered the closure of 21 mines, mainly nickel producers that account
for about half of output in the world’s top ore supplier. The campaign to fight environmental degradation in the Philippines, which prompted the
mine closures, could mean the loss of 10 percent of global nickel supply, or nearly 2 million tonnes. The Philippine authorities seem adamant
offsetting that, though, is the news we had a couple of weeks ago about the partial lifting of the ban on Indonesian exports. Indonesia eased a
three-year ban on nickel ore exports in January. Under the new rules mines can export up to 5.2 million tonnes of nickel ore a year. However,
analysts say that the rules accompanying the relaxation on using local smelter capacity to process low-grade ore could prevent an immediate
ramp-up in exports. Maybe for the time being the Philippines news will be the bigger mover of prices. Philippine miners have said they will launch a
legal challenge. Copper traded lower on Thursday. Focus is on BHP Billiton’s Chilean mine Escondida, the world’s biggest copper mine, where
workers have voted to reject a company wage offer and strike. Escondida’s copper output for the six months to Dec. 31 stood at 452,0000 tonnes.
A loss of that magnitude this year could send the copper market into a deficit this year rather than the small surplus analysts were expecting in a
Reuters survey