Finnish stainless steel maker Outokumpu said that nickel prices are unlikely to rise strongly in the next two year because of weak fundamentals.

Mr Karri Kaitue deputy CEO of Outokumpu said that current London inventory levels, at their highest in about 15 years, highlight the difficulties still facing the industry.

He added that "We don't see any reason why the nickel price would dramatically increase. If we are solely basing everything on supply and demand analysis, during the next couple of years there shouldn't be a tremendous pressure for the nickel prices to be on an increasing trend."

Mr Kaitue said that the firm's ferrochrome Tornio plant went back into production at the end of September after being idled for 6 months. He added that "The actual amount of job losses is about 50 people, some of which will be offered to relocate. We are moving some of the production lines to another facility in Finland."

(Sourced from www.reuters.com)