Shanghai bonded nickel stocks inched up 500 mt on week

SHANGHAI, Feb 14 (SMM) – Inventories of refined nickel in the Shanghai bonded areas edged higher this week, as the import arbitrage window remained closed.

There were arrivals of shipments ordered in January this week, but those cargoes failed to fully enter bonded warehouses due to a lack of trucks.

SMM data showed that inventories of pure nickel in the Shanghai bonded areas increased 500 mt in the week ended February 14. Import losses narrowed to 1,393 yuan/mt this week, according to SMM calculations. Discounts of LME cash nickel against the three-month contract widened from last week, to average $83.5/mt this week, indicating sufficient supply in the near term.

Shanghai bonded inventories of nickel cathode plates rose 1,300 mt this week to 16,400 mt, as trades eased further after some sellers raised their premiums for Russian cargoes due to high holding costs. Stocks of nickel briquettes, meanwhile, decreased 800 mt to 2,600 mt, as cargoes moved to domestic markets where saw spot discounts narrowing on tighter supply.