ABN Amro Latest To Lift Nickel Price Forecasts

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By Chris Shaw

Last week FNArena noted a number of upgrades to nickel price forecasts for this and coming years and this week has started off the same way, with ABN Amro revising up its expectations for the metal.

Its revisions are substantial too, as the broker has increased its price forecast for 2007 by a whopping 48.2% to US$15.50 per pound, while in 2008 its forecast has increased by an even more impressive 52.5% to US$11.25 per pound.

The revisions get smaller looking further out with the broker’s new forecasts for 2009 to 2011 all increasing by around 20%, while its long-term average price forecast has been pushed up 11.1% to US$5.00 per pound.

Putting this in perspective, JP Morgan expects a price for 2007 of US$12.70 per pound, falling to around US$7.00 in 2008, while Merrill Lynch is forecasting an average price this year of US$13.88, followed by US$10.50 in 2008.

ABN Amro’s long-term forecast is well above that of Smith Barney Citigroup’s US$4.00 estimate, but is lower than Morgan Stanley’s forecast of US$6.00 per pound.

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