SHANGHAI, Jan 23 (SMM) – Inventories of refined nickel in the Shanghai bonded areas continued to edge higher this week, on the back of the arrival of shipments for December orders.
SMM data showed that there was about 18,500 mt of pure nickel in the Shanghai bonded areas on Thursday January 23, up 400 mt from last Friday January 17. Stocks of briquettes rose 100 mt during the same period to 3,400 mt.
Trades of imported nickel were muted in the last week ahead of the Chinese New Year, as the import arbitrage window remained closed. SMM calculations showed that losses on imported nickel averaged 2,184 yuan/mt this week, compared to 1,700 yuan/mt for last week.
Discounts of LME cash nickel widened to $80.5/mt this week, indicating a well-supplied market.
