Nickel premiums continued to rise in the United States in the week ended Tuesday August 10 due to tight availability, but premiums in other regions remained flat.
US premiums up on higher sales despite end to Vale strikeChina's cathodes and briquettes quiet amid firmly closed arb windowQuiet market in Europe.Uptrend continues in US premiums
Nickel premiums rose in the United States on continued higher sales, despite the end of a much-watched strike at Vale's Sudbury mine in Canada, which greatly contributed to the increases in the US nickel premium in recent weeks.
The strike
ended early in the assessment week on August 4, having been largely responsible for the US briquette premium doubling within eight weeks of it starting on June 1.
Most sources said that it would take weeks for normal supply to resume of rounded, easily flowing nickel forms - whether briquette or Vale 'rounds'.
"The market remains very tight for 'flowable' nickel in the US so the higher premia will hold for the near term," one seller said.
Additionally, Nornickel's...