BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - Nickel prices surged substantially higher...

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - Nickel prices surged substantially higher to end last week at over 28,000 usd per ton on the London Metals Exchange (LME) as inventory levels fell to near all-time lows and continued strong demand was seen from Chinese stainless steel producers, Numis Securities in a research note.

Demand for nickel is principally linked to the production of stainless steel which makes up around 62 pct of nickel usage worldwide, particularly the 300 series with a 8-12 pct nickel content. China last year tried to push a lower grade nickel 200 series into the market due to high nickel prices -- a move rejected by consumers as low grade stainless reduces anti-corrosive properties, the note said.

The LME has moved to dampen speculation and reduce market volatility although this may serve to maintain prices at a higher level for longer, Numis said.

Currently, nickel is nearly four times the price of copper and is the most profitable of the base metals to mine.

China became the world's largest producer of stainless steel last year with output of five mln metric tons, as more domestic production plants began operating, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement on its website.

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HMMMMM, Very interesting about the comment on LME intervention...we've been there before last year and we now know it didnt suppress the price at all, though it did rein in the rate of pon jumps.

For the TA's amongst us, now that the pon has broken through the ascending triangle on the 12mnth and 5yr charts, it looks to be predicting a medium term pon of US$22.50lb+.
As much as I love my ZFX and the zinc mkt, all my spare $$$'s will just keep getting poured into buying up my highly undervalued MCR at the moment with whats happening now.