Vale’s nickel sales rose to 63,000 mt in the first quarter compared to 56,000 mt in the first quarter of 2012 and 58,000 in the fourth quarter last year. Vale’s average nickel sales price, however, fell to $17,205.76 per mt compared to $19,696.43 and $17,500, respectively, in the first and fourth quarter of 2012. As a result nickel operating revenue fell to $1.084-billion in the first quarter compared to $1.103-billion in the year-ago quarter. Nickel prices, Vale said, have been trending down since February 2013. “This is a consequence of oversupply caused by the significant expansion of Chinese nickel in pig iron production.” Vale said that demand from stainless and non-stainless steel markets is gradually improving, but “a trend reversal depends on production cuts by high cost producers.”