China Imported 378,400 mt of NPI in Physical Content in July, and the Oversupply will be Eased in August

SHANGHAI, Aug 23 (SMM) - According to customs data, in July 2022, China imported 378,400 mt of NPI in physical content, down 13.97% from the previous month, but up 34.64% from the same period last year. The total Ni content stood at 58,100 mt, down 8.67% MoM, but up 29.54% YoY.  Ferronickel imports in July reduced further to about 31,500 mt in physical content, up 46.75% MoM. On one hand, the demand from the domestic stainless steel market was poor. On the other hand, the ferronickel market is unstable after the extreme price moves of nickel in March 2022. And the market has changed the pricing method, but the overseas ferronickel enterprises have not fully adapted to it, so the import volume of ferronickel in physical content so far has decreased by 27% year-on-year. China imported around 347,000 mt of NPI in physical content in July, down 16.08% on the month. The reasons for the decline in NPI imports are as follows. First of all, the Indonesian NPI output decreased in July. Secondly, the import data deviated somewhat because of the inconsistency of customs declaration time. The overall import volume of Indonesian NPI is surging as the production lines of Indonesian NPI are put into production one after another. However, the production pace has slowed down amid the slack demand from domestic stainless steel terminals and the oversupply of NPI in China. In August, the imports of Indonesian NPI will be the same as in July. In the long run, the oversupply in the domestic NPI market will be eased somewhat.