Posted on 30 Apr 2024
The International Nickel Study Group (INSG) has projected a nickel surplus of 109,000t in 2024, Kallanish notes.
The firm says in a statement that the nickel market faced surpluses of 98,000t in 2022, 163,000t in 2023.
According to the firm, world primary nickel production was 3.06 million tonnes in 2022 and 3.36mt in 2023. It is forecast to reach 3.55mt in 2024. The estimates, however, do not include an adjustment factor for possible production disruptions.
Meanwhile, world primary nickel usage was 2.96mt in 2022 and 3.19mt in 2023. The INSG forecasts an increase to 3.45 mt in 2024.
According to the firm, the rate of growth of nickel use in batteries for electric vehicles (EV) has been less than anticipated. This is negatively affected by the removal of subsidies, competition from non-nickel batteries (mainly lithium iron phosphate) and a recent relative preference for plug-in hybrid EVs over battery EVs.
In Indonesia, it is expected that different types of nickel product will continue to ramp up production. These include nickel pig iron (NPI), mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) from high pressure acid leaching (HPAL) plants, nickel matte converted from NPI, nickel cathode and nickel sulphate.
In China, NPI production is likely to decrease in 2024, but nickel cathode and nickel sulphate production is projected to increase, resulting in an overall rise in output.
Elsewhere, due to profitability issues, a number of producing facilities have been mothballed, reduced production or are contemplating the future possibility of one of these options.
Source:Kallanish
