CIF Prices of Nickel Ore Change Little amid Growing Bid Prices and Dropping Ocean Freight

SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (SMM) - Nickel ore trading was slack approaching the CNY holiday, and the market supply and demand were both weak. Last Friday, the average price of Ni 1.5% ore stood at $71.5/wmt on a CIF basis, flat from a week earlier. Spot nickel ore supply was scarce. Ore shipments from mines in the Philippines were reduced during the rainy season, and the mines also took the chance to quote high. The bid price of Ni 1.3% ore grew slightly from the previous period to $45/wmt. But the ocean freight dropped owing to the CNY holiday, hence the final CIF prices did not change significantly. NPI factories and steel mills cut their production for maintenance in January. Besides, the NPI plants restocked sufficient raw materials earlier, thus the nickel ore demand weakened last week. SMM presumes that the nickel ore prices may grow with the improvement of demand from the NPI market after the Chinese New Year. The short-term Ni 1.5% ore prices will fluctuate between $69-73/wmt.