Nickel Ore Inventories at Chinese Ports up 322,000 wmt WoW

SHANGHAI, Sep 23 (SMM) - As of September 23, port inventories of nickel ore in China added 322,000 wmt to 7.39 million wmt compared with last week. The total Ni content stood at 58,000 mt. Port inventory of nickel ore across seven major Chinese ports stood at 4.10 million wmt, 272,000 wmt higher than last week. Due to the approaching rainy season and the recovery of downstream markets, the ore trading gradually picked up, and the ore prices rose. On the demand side, the profit recovery of NPI plants and steel mills eased the pressure on nickel ore prices. On the supply side, mines maintained normal shipments amid firm FOB prices. It is expected that due to the demand for raw materials before the rainy season, the import volume of nickel ore will continue to grow, and the port inventory will also rise. During the rainy season, the consumption of raw materials may be slow as the production of NPI may remain low, thus in the long run, the inventory will fall slowly.