A senior analyst at state-owned research group Antaike reported that China’s primary nickel output is expected to grow 11% to 230,000tns in 2009, while stainless steel output will fall 6%. Nickel output will rise due to plans to increase production at major producers such as Jinchuan. But production of stainless steel, a process which consumes the largest amount of nickel, is expected to fall to 6.9 million tonnes in 2009 compared with 7.34 million tonnes in 2008 due to the downturn in the economy. Producers of nickel pig iron, a once cheaper substitute for nickel in stainless steel production, suffered as nickel prices tumbled from their peaks in mid-2007. But industry officials said it has a future.
