The 2001 Chinese Nickel Market in Retrospect and the 2002 Market Outlook

As influenced by the price downturn in theinternational nickel market,the nickel price hasdemonstrated a down curve in 2001.With thedevelopment and improvement of China’smarket economy,the prices of domesticmarkets are being more congruous with thoseof the international markets.The fluctuations ofthe international nickel market are wellperceived by the domestic market traders andare subsequently reflected in the price ups anddowns in the domestic nickel market.In the2001 domestic nickel market,the price was83,000 Yuan per ton at its highest and 47,000Yuan per ton at its lowest,which wellrepresented the price trends of the internationalnickel market.In 2001,China has produced some 49,490 tonsof refined nickel,which was 2.82 percent lessthan those of the previous year.In particular,import of refined nickel from September toDecember exceeded domestic production by