LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) – Global nickel production will outpace demand to the tune of 239,000 metric tons next year, according to the International Nickel Study Group (INSG). It will be the third consecutive year of excess supply and the surplus will be the largest yet.
The INSG, which held the second of its twice-yearly meetings in Lisbon this week, estimates the market was in a 104,000-metric ton surplus last year with the figure set to rise to 223,000 metric tons this year.
The cumulative forecast surplus of 566,000 metric tons over the three years is huge relative to the size of the nickel market. Global consumption this year is expected to come in at 3.2 million metric tons.
The growing surplus of nickel has up to now been largely hidden in forms of the metal that aren’t traded on either the London Metal Exchange (LME) or the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE). But funds are betting that’s going to start changing soon. Investor positioning in London is the most bearish it’s been since 2019.
For the rest of this article: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/insg-forecasts-third-consecutive-year-nickel-surplus-andy-home-2023-10-05/