Nickel Gains in London as Stockpiles Decline to Eight-Month Low

By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen

July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Nickel rebounded from a two-year low in London as stockpiles of the metal used in stainless steel declined to the smallest in eight months, indicating supply is slowing.

Inventories tracked by the London Metal Exchange dropped 6 percent this month to 43,728 metric tons, the lowest since Nov. 23. BHP Billiton Ltd. this month shut its Kalgoorlie refinery in Western Australia through June 2009, cutting sales of the metal by 25,000 tons, or about 57 percent of existing LME stockpiles.

``You probably started to see the impact from supply disruption in Western Australia,'' Max Layton, an analyst at Macquarie Ltd. in London, said today by phone. ``It may be short- lived and overall we see a small surplus this year.''

Nickel for delivery in three months increased $150, or 0.7 percent, to $20,550 a ton as of 4:55 p.m. London time. The contract closed July 18 at $20,400 a ton, the lowest since June 28, 2006.

The metal is headed for a second consecutive annual drop, after last year's 21 percent decline as stainless-steel mills resorted to products containing less nickel. Prices may have to fall to about $15,000 a ton to lure back consumers, Charles Cooper, an analyst at Evolution Securities Ltd., said today.

Boliden AB, the second-largest producer of zinc in Europe, said production at the Tara zinc and lead mine in Ireland will decline ``slightly'' in the next six to nine months, extending a drop from the first half.

The mine produced an equivalent of 104,019 tons of zinc metal during January to June, down 7 percent from a year ago, the Stockholm-based company said today in an earnings statement. Lead output fell 11 percent to 13,765 tons.

Mine Closures

Zinc prices have slumped 22 percent this year and lead 20 percent, making mines unprofitable. Tech Cominco Ltd., owner of the world's largest zinc mine, said July 15 it would close its Lennard Shelf Pillara mine in Western Australia next month, earlier than planned.

Lead jumped $65, or 3.3 percent, to $2,035 a ton and zinc added $20, or 1.1 percent, to $1,840.

Stockpiles of copper monitored by the exchange have increased 5 percent this month to 128,725 tons, the highest since March 12. As inventories have been held by ``only a few market participants,'' availability is limited, Norddeutsche Affinerie AG, Europe's largest copper refiner, said today in an e-mailed newsletter.

Copper for immediate delivery traded at a premium of $241 a ton above the benchmark price on July 17, the highest since August 2005 and indicating a shortage of nearby futures contracts. The spread was $234 a ton today. Borrowing fees for futures for tomorrow delivery were $35 a ton a day.

Lost Output

Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., the nation's biggest producer of the lightweight metal, said it may lose 30,000 tons of output after it trimmed some capacity at two ventures in Shanxi province because of a power shortage.

Shanxi Huaze Aluminum & Power Co. suspended 25 percent of its 280,000-ton annual capacity as of July 18, and Shanxi Huasheng Aluminum Co. stopped 22 percent of its 220,000-ton capacity, Chalco, as the company is known, said in a statement late that day.

Aluminum stockpiles on the LME added 4,975 tons, or 0.4 percent, to 1.12 million tons, the highest since May 12, 2004. The contract rose $7 to $3,040 a ton.

Tin increased $75 to $23,500.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in London at cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net