Since the end of last year, the London Metal Exchange (LME) nickel prices soared all the way. Although in recent days for adjustment, but remains in the 28,000 U.S. dollars / tons, compared with the end of last year's 13,400 U.S. dollars / ton, up 100 percent above the rate.
LME nickel prices due to lead the international nickel price changes, the LME cash nickel Nickel follow the rapid rise and rise, thus boosting the entire industry changes in the industrial chain, on the downstream business, "even if a horizontal" increasingly heated.

Nickel prices soared greatly stimulated the mining enterprises to expand production capacity needs, and more recently from the international nickel giant, "a vertical" mining the news frequently reported.

Last Wednesday, South Korea Resources Corporation said the company will work with the world's second largest nickel producer in Canada Nickel Company of Finland nickel copper mine joint venture development projects, Korea Resources Inc. The project is expected to have significant reserves that are expected in the surrounding areas of mineral reserves of 400 million tons Around.

Brazil's iron ore mining giant CVRD last Friday claimed that the company has received regulatory bodies in Canada and the United States agree that the company will bid for Canadian nickel company, once the acquisition is successful, it will become the world's largest nickel Mining enterprises.

In addition, the cooperation between China and overseas nickel mining also has speed. Asia's largest nickel production enterprises in China Jinchuan Group Tasmania and the Australian mining company, Ali Qin before the formal signing of nickel mining cooperation agreement, China Nonferrous Mining Group is also stepping up efforts to Myanmar Dagon Hill nickel mine development operations.

As a whole nickel stainless steel industry accounted for more than 70 percent of consumption, stainless steel production enterprises have become a major nickel-metal downstream businesses, and in order to combat the soaring price of nickel rising cost pressures, stainless steel joint enterprises have recently limited production increases.

In addition, the stainless steel industry and also on the lower reaches of a strategic alliance enterprises common fight against rising raw material pressure.

"China's zinc industry a platform for the lack of a hedge against inflation, zinc smelting companies and brokers to earn the same in the meagre spread." In the last Saturday in Shanghai at the 2006 summit on the zinc industry, a large number of zinc smelting firms to issue such a voice.

It is learnt that, so far, China's zinc output for the first 14 in the world, but in the domestic futures market, zinc varieties still deficient, the right to speak Pangla the international market, which has become a zinc smelting companies heart disease.

In recent years, China's zinc industry industrial scale and production capacity continues to increase, mining, mineral processing, smelting capacity of the average annual growth of more than 10%, but with the continued rapid development of the domestic economy, zinc smelting products in short supply, the year 2005, China's imports of Forging rolling 628,000 tons of zinc, an increase of 35 percent of the first half of this year, imports of unwrought rolling 279,000 tons of zinc, an increase of 13.4 percent. On importing large quantities of zinc in China at the same time, the global zinc prices began skyrocketing in the past 20 years the London Metal Exchange (LME) zinc average price of 1,090 U.S. dollars / ton, but the first half of this year zinc soared to 4,000 U.S. dollars, reaching record highs . In view of China's zinc industry has reached a considerable scale, a slight fluctuations in zinc prices, will affect the whole industry chain of nerve.

China's zinc industry is currently facing the embarrassment of not hedge against inflation, the industry pointed out that although large-scale zinc industry, but industry concentration is not high, the profits of refining companies is not high. "No country with a zinc futures trading platform, even those of the smelter on the meagre profits are not locked, and smelting companies and brokers, is relying on to earn a meagre spread to live." Hunan Torch of the rule of the company's total import and export of metal Manager Wang Jianjun in the zinc industry summit bluntly, "Fortunately, these two years, on the whole is a rally, we all earned a little money, if the situation is reversed, not mine smelter, had resigned; brokers Almost, to earn the point spread on suspicion too little, and sometimes unavoidable Du Yidu, 5,6 in Xinding down, some people still fear. "

China can not do sets of security can only be done abroad. However, due to various reasons, the results were not satisfactory.

Absence of domestic zinc market, the Shanghai Nonferrous Metals net daily published in Shanghai zinc (SMM zinc) gradually expand the influence of the "Shanghai price" to a certain extent, become a domestic zinc Zhidao Jia. But the price of zinc in the SMM approved, the main LME reference or use of the principle of "economic integration in the world, the world is around to the LME, we can hardly avoid this reality." Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Industry Association Information Center Director Shen Tong Lok Seemed helpless.

Many of the industry is worried about this, the domestic futures zinc deficiencies, LME will slip in, survivals for China's zinc price of the right to speak, "Binglinchengxia" is no exaggeration.

Shanghai financial Xinghai, deputy director of the office stressed that China can be competitive. Fang Xinghai, metal goods in China in the great volume, and time zone on the LME is also a separate, we are in Asian trading hours, so we can be competitive. Fang Xinghai but also stressed that, first of all to "keep fit," can compete.