Standard Bank Increases Nickel, Tin Estimates, Forecasts Copper Shortage

Nickel and tin will trade higher than previously expected this year and copper supply will fall short of demand as early as next year, Standard Bank said.

Nickel will average $21,310 a metric ton this year, from a previous estimate of $20,225, Leon Westgate, an analyst at the bank in London, said in a report dated yesterday. Tin will average $18,875 in 2010, from an earlier forecast of $17,300. The 2011 estimate increased by $3,000 to $23,200.

Copper supply will outpace demand by 153,000 tons in 2010, compared with a previous expectation of 244,000 tons, Westgate said. The market will flip into a 194,000-ton shortage next year and about 500,000 tons in 2012, he said.

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