Copper, nickel markets in deficit in Jan-April, aluminum in surplus: WBMS

The global nickel and copper markets remained in deficit over the January-April 2022 period, while aluminum, tin and zinc were all in surplus, the World Bureau of Metals Statistics said June 16.

A deficit of 51,700 mt was recorded in the nickel market over the four-month period, compared to a deficit of 146,900 mt for the whole of 2021 and a deficit of 46,100 mt in the first quarter of 2022.

Refined nickel output for January-April was 867,800 mt against demand of 919,500 mt, WBMS said.

Total mined nickel production for the period rose 58,000 mt year on year to 882,700 mt, the data showed.

In China, smelter/refinery output dropped 16,000 mt on the year during the period, while apparent demand increased 34,000 mt year on year to 481,300 mt.

Indonesian smelter/refinery production for the four-month period rose 16% to 321,100 mt.

Global apparent nickel demand climbed 52,000 mt year on year, WBMS said.

London Metal Exchange reported nickel stocks were 27,200 mt lower at the end of April than at the end of 2021, but 2,400 mt higher than at the end of March.

S&P Global Commodity Insights assessed spot battery-grade nickel sulfate with minimum 22% nickel content and maximum 100 ppb magnetic material at Yuan 42,600/mt ($6,348.73/mt) DDP China June 16, up 25.7% since the start of 2022.

Copper deficit

A deficit of 409,000 mt was recorded in the copper market in the four-month period, which compared to a deficit of 473,000 mt for the whole of 2021 and 189,000 mt for the first quarter of 2022, WBMS said.

Global copper production for the January-April period fell 0.7% year on year to 6.88 million mt, while global refined production rose 1.1% to 8.1 million mt, driven by a 161,000 mt increase in China.

Total global demand for January-April rose 5.7% year on year to 8.54 million mt, with apparent demand in China up 4.4% to 4.6 million mt, while reported output of semi-finished copper products in China dropped 0.9%.

Refined copper production in the US dropped 22,000 mt to 305,800 mt, WBMS said.

Copper stocks were reported to be 115,500 mt higher than at the end of December, and up by 21,000 mt compared with the end of March.

Other base metals

Meanwhile, the primary aluminum market recorded a surplus of 400,000 mt over January-April, after a 2021 deficit of 1.8 million mt, WBMS said.

Primary aluminum demand for the period dropped 750,000 mt year on year to 21.9 million mt while production rose 0.5%.

Total reported primary aluminum stocks at the end of April were 417,000 mt below the end-December 2021 level at 833,000 mt.

The zinc market also recorded a surplus of 76,600 mt in the January-April period, while lead was in a deficit of 82,000 mt, the WBMS said.