Port Inventory of Nickel Ore Up 141,000 wmt from December 23

SHANGHAI, Dec 30 (SMM) - As of December 30, inventory of nickel ore across Chinese ports added 141,000 wmt to 9.18 million wmt compared with last Friday. The total Ni content stood at around 72,000 mt. The port inventory of nickel ore across seven major Chinese ports stood at 5.04 million wmt, 141,000 wmt higher than the previous week. The arrivals at Lanshan Port increased significantly. In the rainy season in the Philippines, the nickel ore shipments reduced, tightening the supply. Downstream demand was slack. NPI plants maintained their production, but the operating rates were low, and their in-plant inventory of nickel ore was consumed slowly. It is expected that the subsequent port inventory of nickel ore will be maintained at the current level in the short term, while in the long run, the inventory may fall.