SHANGHAI, May 15 (SMM) – Inventories of refined nickel in the Shanghai bonded areas shrank this week as a temporarily opened import arbitrage window on Monday triggered the outflow of some nickel cathode products to the domestic market.
SMM data showed that inventories of pure nickel in the Shanghai bonded areas stood at 16,900 mt as of May 15, down 500 mt from May 8. Stocks of cathodes fell to 15,200 mt, while those of briquettes were unchanged at 1,700 mt.
The import losses again widened in the middle of the week as reduced Shanghai nickel futures weighed on the price ratio of SHFE/LME nickel. It is understood that no forward cargoes of refined nickel arrived at Chinese ports this week.

![[Berita Kilat SMM] Nickel Industries Melaporkan Rekor EBITDA Bijih Kuartalan, Mengupayakan Kuota Penjualan RKAB 2026 yang Lebih Tinggi](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/JjbtE20251217171732.jpeg)
![[Kilas Baja Tahan Karat SMM] Impor dan Biaya HRC Baja Tahan Karat Seri 300 Taiwan Melonjak pada Juni](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/NHXhQ20251217171733.jpg)

