Russian nickel premiums fell amid goods arrival, Jinchuan nickel premiums rose

SHANGHAI, Mar 23 (SMM)—Under the major impact of bearish news, nickel futures prices fluctuated around 120,000 yuan/mt. In the spot market, the sideways trend did not further stimulate downstream purchase, so end-demand was weakening, and quotations varied for different brands.

Domestic traders gradually lowered the quotations after the importers reduced the prices of the arrived Russian nickel. As for Jinchuan nickel, only the smelter in Gansu was shipping goods, and plants were actively making purchases for long-term orders, while the replenishment was limited. The supply in Shanghai was tight, and the premiums of Jinchuan nickel rose slightly. Certain demand was released in the first half of last week.

Russian nickel premiums fell, Jinchuan nickel premiums rose

Although more than 3,000 mt of Russian nickel flowed into Shanghai, the weekly inventory did not increase (see appendix). The source of duty-free original briquette was limited, and the quotations were high due to its higher cost effectiveness than nickel sulphate. The premiums fell to about 2,800 yuan/mt. The spot quotations of non-duty-free briquette were around 2,500 yuan/mt, and there was large bargaining space for the long-term orders, likely to be reduced to 1,500-2,000 yuan/mt.

Pure nickel inventories in Shanghai bonded zone decreased 2,100 mt from March 12 to 12,800 mt as of March 19, falling for the third consecutive week. Nickel prices fluctuated sideways during last week, and the import window was opened. In the bonded zone, the transaction rebounded. Premiums of Russian nickel was $180/mt. Duty-free nickel briquette had few buyers, while non-duty-free briquette prices stood over $200/mt under warrants.

Inventories in bonded area dropped

The inventories in bonded areas decreased markedly as the nickel plates and non-duty-free nickel briquettes gradually passed the customs clearance.

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