NPI Output in China Grew in January due to New Capacity, Expected to Increase Further in February

SHANGHAI, Feb 9 (SMM) - China produced 36,000 mt (Ni content) of NPI in January 2023, an increase of 2.47% month-on-month and 13.75% year-on-year. Affected by the Chinese New Year holidays in January, stainless steel mills carried out large-scale annual maintenance, so the demand for NPI was weak. This prompted a small number of NPI plants to cut output and undertake maintenance to varying degrees. The month-on-month increase is attributable to the output from new capacity at large-scale stainless steel mills integrated with NPI facilities.

By grade, the output of high-grade NPI in January was about 30,800 mt in Ni content, an increase of 9.59% from the previous month. The stainless steel mills integrated with NPI facilities which commissioned stainless steel capacity accounted for the growth of high-grade NPI output. Output of low-grade NPI stood at 5,300 mt in Ni content in January, a drop of 25.74% on the month. Stainless steel mills that had low-grade NPI facilities conducted large-scale production cuts and maintenance at the end of the year, causing the output to fall precipitously.

It is estimated that the domestic NPI output in February will increase 6.69% from January to around 38,500 mt in Ni content. In February, some NPI factories are expected to resume normal production, in turn growing the output remarkably. But at the same time, profit margins have shrunk due to the tight supply and the consequent high cost of nickel ore. This has prompted small number of NPI plants to plan for maintenance in February. Still, the output in February will climb.