[brief comment on SMM] Ni-Fe sticker continues to expand with rising weakness.

SMM, June 2 / PRNewswire-Asianet /-

On the supply side, according to SMM research, the northern nickel iron plant plans to resume production in early July and will stop production and maintenance at the end of April because of the expiration of its furnace life, with a monthly production capacity of about 450 metal tons during normal production. According to customs data, the import of nickel and iron increased by 49.7 per cent to 145531 tons in April, an increase of 48315 tons over March, of which Indonesia imported 95457 tons of nickel and iron in April, an increase of 41025 tons over March, accounting for about 84.9 per cent of the total increment. According to the understanding of SMM, the sharp increase in March was mainly due to the great decrease in Indonesian nickel-iron imports in March due to stainless steel anti-dumping and import economy. The total amount of nickel-iron imports in April was 2.6% higher than that in February. Indonesia's nickel and iron imports fell 2.1 per cent in April from a month earlier than in February

Demand side, according to SMM research, a steel plant in North China this month high nickel iron inquiry price is 940 yuan / nickel point, to the plant including tax, more than 5000 tons of price increase of 10 yuan / nickel point, compared with last month's purchase price down 15 yuan / nickel point, there is a deal. Southern a steel mill this week high nickel iron inquiry price of 960 yuan / nickel point, to the plant including tax, the transaction price is the same as last week, because the nickel price rose sharply, the seller's psychological price has been raised, has not been concluded yet.

Generally speaking, due to the sharp rise in prices at the beginning of the week, the market quotation is slightly chaotic, the market is mainly wait-and-see, although there is a tentative price increase, but compared with pure nickel still appears to be weak. As nickel prices fell back from their high levels on Tuesday, ferronickel took the lead in nickel prices and returned to pre-rally prices. Steel mills in North, South and East China have all made purchases, and active short-term demand has failed to reverse the weakness of ferronickel caused by supply pressure. the discount continued to expand this week. In June, ferronickel will be more abundant. In the later stage, if the price of stainless steel is reduced, the profits of steel mills will continue to narrow, and the transaction will not improve in the later period. Steel mills may choose to overhaul and reduce production, or continue to suppress the price of raw materials, will be a further drag on the price of ferronickel.