Global consumption of primary nickel has reached 1.4 million tonnes per annum in recent years. The trend rate of increase has been about 2.4% in recent decades. This represents additional consumption of approximately 32,000 tonnes per year. Asian countries, led by China, accounted for much the growth in demand, as their economies evolved rapidly from being predominantly agricultural to becoming highly industrialized. The global macroeconomic crisis resulted in a decline in both nickel consumption and production in the period 2008-2009.
By 2009, China accounted for 32% of world consumption of nickel, compared with just 4% ten years ago. The four largest consumers of primary nickel in 2009 were China (442,500 tonnes), Japan (121,300 tonnes), USA (90,300 tonnes), and Germany (80 100 tonnes).
Production of refined nickel has reached 1.4 million tonnes per annum in recent years. The world’s four largest producers of primary nickel metal in 2009 were Russia (254,000 tonnes), China (253,800 tonnes), Japan (144,300 tonnes), and Australia (129,000 tonnes).
The price of nickel is established daily on the London Metal Exchange. Over the past five years, the nickel price averaged about US$20,000 per tonne, but the recent financial crisis has lead to large fluctuations of the price. In 2010, there has been a general trend of increase in the price of nickel.
