Nickel to exceed demand by 80,000 tonnes

With stainless steel production in its third successive year of decline, world production of refined primary nickel now is expected to decline 9.3% to 1.26-million metric tons in 2009, the International Nickel Study Group (INSG) predicts. World nickel prices averaged more than $23/lb in early 2007 but have since fallen sharply, to around $5 this week [...]