Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing 

• Nickel closed Monday's trading session at $7.22/lb ($15,915/tonne). Indicators at 5:25 am CST today show nickel trading around $.01/lb lower. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses rose on Monday and read just over the 195,350 y/t overnight. Shanghai nickel ticked higher to 127,210 y/t overnight. Nickel continues to trade north of the February trend lines, but uncertainty over the impact of U.S. tariff's appear to be tamping down any over-enthusiasm. Your author is heading to the hospital this morning, as last weeks self diagnosis was wrong and the medicine the doctor put us on appears to have given up. If we are admitted, and I suspect that is a good possibility, I will not be able to update this site until I am home. Please forgive me for any delay in the daily updates. In the mean time, stay healthy and have a great day!
  
• Average price of LME traded cash nickel so far this month - $7.08/lb
  

    Monday's market review - Copper pressured by US tariff threat, but China data supports - Copper prices came under pressure on Monday from the threat of tariffs on U.S. imports, but stronger industrial activity... - more

   SMM Exclusive: Overview of China Metal Production in February 2025 and March Forecast - SMM's monthly metal production data is scheduled for release at each month-end, aiming to uncover the true ... - more

   Tsingshan cuts Indonesian nickel output due to tight ore supplies - Top nickel producer China’s Tsingshan has cut ferronickel production in Indonesia due to persistent shortages of ore caused by delays to mining ... - more

• Indonesia’s Nickel Boom Is Forcing Its Own Smelters to Shut Down - more

   Courtesy AISI - In the week ending on March 1, 2025, domestic raw steel production was 1,641,000 net tons while the capability utilization rate was 73.7 percent. Production was 1,721,000 net tons in the week ending March 1, 2024, while the capability utilization then was 77.5 percent. - more

   Other News

• ‘No room left’ for a deal: Trump says Canada, Mexico tariffs take effect Tuesday - more
• Trump Tariffs: Tracking the Economic Impact of the Trump Trade War - more
• Trump pauses all US military aid to Ukraine after clash with Zelenskiy - more

  Economic Stats and Prices (posted in Friday edition)

  Daily Nickel/Stainless Steel Briefing 

• Nickel closed Friday's trading session at $7.04/lb ($15,525/tonne). Indicators at 5:20 am CST today show nickel trading around $.08/lb  higher. Stockpiles of nickel stored in LME licensed warehouses rose on Friday and end the day, week and month reading just over the 195,150 tonne level. Shanghai nickel rose to 127,090 y/t overnight. Nickel is trading higher this morning, possibly because the Euro is spiking against the U.S. Dollar. We would like to introduce a new site advertiser. Nickel Systems is a fastener distributor like few others. While much of the fastener industry stays away from stocking what many in the industry call "exotic materials", Nickel Systems makes this their primary inventory. Check out the line card on their web site and if you are an end user, or fellow fastener distributor, this is contact information worth keeping handy We welcome them as an ess advertiser. Stay safe out there and have a great week!
• Average price of LME traded cash nickel so far this month - $6.93/lb (Feb average)
  

    Friday's market review - Copper slips to lowest in over two weeks on trade war fears - Copper slumped to the weakest in more than two weeks on Friday, weighed down by worries about a trade war in retaliation ... - more

   China's ferro chrome prices remain firm w-o-w despite softening demand - The ferro chrome market experienced stable pricing conditions, with prices for high- and medium-carbon ferro chrome remaining unchanged. - more

   Taiwan’s Sinkang expects clearer stainless steel market conditions in Q2 - Stainless steel prices have been supported to a certain extent recently by the rise in raw materials. The steel market is paying attention... - more

   Will EU's Clean Industrial Deal benefit stainless steel producers? - European stainless steel producers will be hoping to benefit from a new Clean Industrial Deal, unveiled by the European Commission yesterday... - more

   Exclusive: Canada to extend mineral exploration tax credit for two more years, minister says - Canada will extend a tax credit on mineral exploration for two additional years as part of the government's move to... - more

   In Brazil, mining giant Vale is sued over metal contamination found in Indigenous peoples - Brazil’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office is suing the giant mining company Vale, the Brazilian government and the Amazon ... - more

   Other News

• Trump makes US copper mining a focus of his domestic minerals policy - more
• Top Pitfalls to Avoid When Modernizing Your Warehouse - more
• China's earliest fire-making toolset from 7,000 years ago unearthed in Jiangsu Province - more

  Economic Stats and Prices (posted in Friday edition)