Recently, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused many worries in the financial market. With the further aggravation of the situation, both domestic and foreign nickel prices have risen sharply, among which SHFE nickel prices have once again been set a record high.

China imported 4.01 million mt of nickel ore and its concentrate in November, a decrease of 10% from the previous month and a year-on-year increase of 12%, According to General Administration of Customs.

Zhongwei shares issued an announcement last night that, in view of the company's continued optimism in the high nickel matte recovered from nickel laterite smelting, its wholly-owned subsidiary Zhongwei Hong Kong New Energy reached a supplementary agreement with RIGQUEZA to make additional investments in the joint venture PT.ZhongTsing New Energy. The two parties agreed to build a new laterite smelting project in Indonesia (Phase II) with an annual production capacity of 30,000 m of high nickel matte in metal content on top of Phase I project.

The current tightness of NPI, coupled with the upward trend in cost-end prices (mainly rising electricity prices) and the reduction in NPI output caused by power rationing, has made the problem of NPI shortage more difficult to solve.

Production of NPI and #300 stainless steel is unlikely to be affected as restrictions target blast furnaces

China’s high-grade NPI market is expected to see a supply surplus in Q1 2019, with output growth in China and Indonesia

Price spread of high-grade NPI and nickel turned into discounts as of Friday Sep14

A roundup of China’s base metals output in Aug through SMM survey of major producers

Growth of NPI output in Indonesia is likely to support supplies in the Chinese market for the rest of this year

As per SMM research, Indonesia NPI output reaches 6,000 tons this month, saying 650 metal content tons, keeping same level as last month, which is all sold to China.