China Imports 87,800 mt of Nickel Hydrometallurgy Intermediate Products in Dec 2022

SHANGHAI, Mar 17 (SMM) - According to customs data, China imported 87,800 mt of nickel hydrometallurgy intermediate products in December 2022, down 13% from the previous month. The total metal content stood at 17,700 mt, down 6% MoM. The imports totalled 900,900 mt or 155,600 mt in Ni content throughout 2022. (SMM data is calculated based on the full wet basis, and the figure may be lower than the actual reading considering the import declaration differences). Imports from Australia soared 177.39% from the previous month. The import volume of high-grade nickel matte in December 2022 was 30,000 mt, a decrease of 7% month-on-month. The total imports were 185,200 mt throughout 2022. Among them, 29,900 mt came from Indonesia, accounting for 99.73% of the total. According to SMM research, Tsingshan Group has shifted some of the high-grade matte nickel-based production lines to produce NPI, thus the output of the former dropped 9,000 mt in Ni content in January, which may be reflected in the reduction of imports in January.