like stayer i have also sold my WSA holding late last week. Made $360 profit (after brokerage) which is certainly better than losing, but only a fraction of what i anticipated may eventuate. Even mighty WSA can't fight the constant fall in Ni price. Article below shows Ni has fallen 16% is past week alone!!
SHANGHAI, Jun 06, 2010 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) -- China's Jinchuan Group Co. has cut its refined nickel price by CNY12,000 ($1,757) to CNY156,000 a metric ton effective Monday, the company said on its website. The 7% reduction in price came as nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange tumbled to three-month lows Friday on the back of disappointing U.S. jobs data and continued concerns about the fiscal health of European economies, said Xu Aidong, chief nickel analyst with the state-owned metals consultancy, Beijing Antaike.
Three-month LME nickel was at its lowest since February on Friday, and shed 16% last week. It was at $17,580/ton at 0225 GMT, down $370 from Friday's late kerb.
Spot refined nickel prices at the Changjiang Nonferrous Metals Trading Market, a major spot metals market in Shanghai, were quoted at CNY156,000-156,500/ton Friday, down from CNY172,500-174,000/ton a week earlier.
Jinchuan's price cut also indicated that "market participants are plagued not only by poor macroeconomic conditions but also weak fundamentals--downstream demand isn't that good and spot sales are pretty weak," said Xu.
"Some stainless steel makers have already started maintenance this month, and more will follow suit," she said, adding that production cuts by Chinese stainless steel makers in the second half of this year are "very likely."
Jinchuan Group's nickel price is a bellwether for the domestic industry, as it is the country's largest nickel producer by output.
-Yue Li contributed to this article; Dow Jones Newswires; (8621) 6120 1200; [email protected]
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-06-10 2313ET
WSA Price at posting:
$3.91 Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
