By Paul Ploumis (ScrapMonster Author)

July 22, 2016 08:02:59 AM

SPOKANE (Scrap Monster):  The latest Metals Balances Report released by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics (WBMS) indicates that Nickel market has ended in a small deficit during Jan-May ’16. Also, Tin and Zinc market too has recorded marginal deficit during this period.

Nickel

Global nickel market ended in deficit of 42,600 tonnes in January-May 2016 with apparent demand exceeding production. The calculated full year surplus had stood at 45.0 kt during the whole year 2015, according to WBMS.

The statistics indicate that that reported stockpiles maintained by LME were 39.8 kt lower at the end of May this year from the closing levels of 2015.

Production

World Nickel mine production was 801.10 kt in January-May 2016, lower by 82.1 kt when compared with the corresponding period during previous year. The ban on exports by Indonesian administration has led to reduced mine output from the country. In addition, the local mine production from the country has been extremely weak since the beginning of 2014.

Refined Nickel production in Jan-May ’16 was 728 kt. The total smelter/refinery production of Nickel was 155.9 kt in May 2016. Japan's smelter/refinery production during the initial five-month period of the year witnessed a jump of 5.8 kt compared to 2015.

 Demand

Refined Nickel consumption during Jan-May ’16 surged higher by 130 kt when matched with the previous year. Nickel smelter consumption was 169.8 kt in May this year.

The apparent demand of Nickel from Japan was marginally higher by 3.0 kt during January to May this year when matched with the previous year. The refined Nickel demand in Jan-May ’16 totaled 770 kt.

Tin

The worldwide Tin market has recorded a marginal deficit during January to May this year. There were no DLA deliveries during the five-month period, the data said.

As per WBMS data, the global Tin market recorded slight deficit of 2.0 kt during the initial five months of the year from January to May in 2016.

Global refined Tin production recorded slight increase of 13.30 kt during the five-month period. The above production figure is without taking into account re-processed LME metal. The Asian production totaled 128.4 kt during Jan-May ’16, modestly higher when matched with the production of 114.5 kt during the corresponding period last year.

The global demand for the metal has increased by 4.6% when matched with January to May in 2015. The demand totaled 154.5 kt during this period. The Chinese apparent demand saw significant uptick of 13% over the previous year. The Japanese consumption totaled 10.8 kt, marginally lower by 0.5 kt when compared with the demand of 11.3 kt recorded during January to May in 2015.

The reported stock of the metal rose during the initial five-month period of the year. The stock at the end of the first five months in 2016 was higher by 3.0 kt when compared with Dec ’15 closing levels. The reported stocks rose by 2.9% during the month of May alone.

During the month of May alone, the global refined Tin production totaled 30.8 kt, as against the demand of 29.6 kt.

Zinc

The worldwide zinc market has recorded deficit during January to May this year. This is after recording a surplus during the entire year 2015.

As per WBMS data, the global zinc market recorded deficit of 52 kt during the initial five months of the year from January to May. It should be noted that the worldwide zinc market had reported a surplus of 194 kt during the entire year 2015.

Global refined zinc production witnessed decline of 5.0% during the initial five-month period of 2016. The Chinese production of locally refined zinc dropped marginally by nearly 0.3% when compared with 2015.

The global demand for the metal witnessed sharp decline by 44 kt when matched with January to May in 2015. The Chinese apparent demand rose considerably by 6.8% over the previous year. The Japanese demand for the metal tumbled by 5% when matched with the levels recorded during Jan-May ’15. The demand during the five -month period totaled 203 kt.

The reported stock of the metal has dropped by 35,000 tonnes during the initial five months of the year. The LME zinc stocks tumbled by 21,000 tonnes during the month of May and accounted for 36% of the global stock of the metal. The LME stock levels at the end of May this year were 82 kt lower when matched with end-2015 levels.

The Chinese zinc metal imports, mostly special high grade zinc increased during Jan-May ’16 to 259 kt when compared with the imports of 177 kt during the same period last year. The imports of metal by China totaled 39 kt during the month of May this year.

The zinc slab production during Apr ’16 totaled 1,118.2 kt and the consumption totaled 1,207.0 kt.