RE:RE:RE:RE:Spot Ni now $5.20 / Lbautofocus111 wrote: Back in 2014 there was a helluva lot less NPI (nickel pig iron) being produced from the generally low grade ore produced by Indoesia and the Philippines. That NPI is a cheaper source than pure nickel to produce SS (stainless steel). If I recall correclty ~75% of all nickel is consumed in the production of SS. The LME only deals with pure refinied nickel, and so it does not present any information about developements in the NPI markets.
A few things
1) 67-75% of nickel production goes to SS although I once recall a figure as high as 80% being thrown around. Obviously, it depends on whose figures you use.
2) All NPI goes to SS use but not all SS can use NPI. The higher content/ industrial sectors have more demanding specs and often need chemical grade nickel imputs. If the SS is used for your sink or fridge some impurites don't matter if it is being used in the oil/gas industry as a nozzle on an aqueous ammonia or sour water tank it's a different story.
3) I'm not sure why we would be overly concerned about NPI markets since our product is chemical grade briquettes, the same product traded on the LME, the same product that has been rapidly drawing down for nearly a year now.