SHANGHAI, Sep 18 (SMM) – Inventories of refined nickel in the Shanghai bonded areas remained unchanged from a week ago and stood at 20,800 mt as of September 18, showed SMM data.

Nickel prices remained unchanged for four consecutive weeks. The US dollar premium in Shanghai bonded warehouses fell to around US$110-120/mt, while foreign trades remained curbed, with import losses once narrowing to about -2,474 yuan/mt. 

Some holders tend to ship the imported cargoes under long-term contracts to Korea and Singapore warehouses as the import window of nickel plates are unlikely to open in the near term with high stocks of domestic refined nickel. This accounted for the stable situation in the nickel bonded stocks this week.