SHANGHAI, Jul 22 (SMM) - As of July 22, port inventories of nickel ore in China increased by 375,000 wmt to 5.585 million wmt compared with last week. The total Ni content stood at 43,900 wmt. The port inventory of nickel ore across seven major Chinese ports stood at 2.744 million wmt, 197,000 wmt higher than last week. The nickel ore inventory is increasing slowly. On one hand, the import volume was less than that of the same period last year. On the other hand, due to the weather conditions earlier and the recent drop in ore profits squeezed by the falling NPI prices, the shipments of nickel ore were low in the peak season.  Profits of some low-grade ores have reached near the break-even point, dragging down the mines' shipment enthusiasm. In addition, the domestic NPI plants with thin profits intended to lower the purchase prices. If the current supply and demand are maintained, the import volume during the year will be far less than expected.