SHANGHAI, Jan 18 — According to SMM survey, the domestic NPI inventory accumulated slightly in January. This includes the inventory on the hands of some traders. If the part that can be circulated by traders is removed, the overall inventory is expected to have dropped, abating the pressure on NPI plants. Some cargoes have been booked which are scheduled for delivery in February. The supply appeared to have tightened currently. NPI plants lacked interest in selling.

From December 2022 to January 2023, frequent industrial accidents have had a significant impact on market expectations.  However, according to the most recent SMM survey, the impact from those industrial accidents was limited on the supply in view of the already significant output cuts of high-grade NPI in December and January. The specific impact is as follows:

1. A large-scale NPI factory in Indonesia suffered a large-scale strike last week, and the production line was affected to a certain extent. The daily output is about 360 mt in nickel content, and the affected output is estimated at around 1,000 mt in Ni content. The impact on the overall supply of the market is limited.
2. A large-scale steel mill in China suffered an equipment failure, and encountered certain problems in the maintenance process. The production line was partially affected. But the estimated impact is also relatively limited, and the affected output is estimated to stand at 2,000-3,000 mt.