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Friday March 23, 9:46 PMCalyon hikes nickel, lead price forecastsLONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - Calyon said on Friday it has revised up its price forecasts for nickel and lead because the company believes the market will be underpinned by low stocks and tight supplies.The commodity trader and research house sees lead prices averaging at $1,580 a tonne this year, a 26.4 percent jump from the previous forecast of $1,250. Nickel is forecast at $34,250 from $30,500, a rise of 12.3 percent. Nickel for three-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange hit a record high of $48,500 a tonne on March 16 and lead touched a contract high of $1,955 a tonne on February 26. Stocks of lead in London Metal Exchage warehouses stand at around 32,000 tonnes -- less than two days global consumption -- from nearly 120,000 tonne last June when inventories rose to the highest level since December 2003. "Taking into account current inventory levels and given our forecast of a relatively small surplus on the lead market at only 22,000 tonnes this year, we have upgraded our forecasts," Calyon said in a research note." Calyon noted that Chinese exports of lead slid 80.6 percent year-on-year to 8,600 tonnes in January. Lead is used for making batteries while nickel is mostly used for stainless steel production. "Nickel demand remains very high, as stainless steel output continues to expand, most notably in China," Calyon said. China is the world's largest stainless steel producer. Last year it produced more than five million tonnes. On warrant or available stocks of nickel in LME warehouses stand at around 3,288 tonnes, less than one days global consumption. Calyon expects to see aluminium prices averaging $2,550 a tonne this year, up from a previous forecast at $2,390 and copper at $5,450 from $5,230. The zinc forecast has been revised down to $3,430 a tonne from $3,450. |
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