The premium of Indonesian nickel ore held steady, while Philippine nickel ore transactions were active

The premium of Indonesian nickel ore held steady, while Philippine nickel ore transactions were active

Philippine nickel ore

This week, with the continued increase in shipping costs from the Philippines to China’s ports, the CIF prices of Philippine laterite nickel ores saw a slight increase. The 1.5% laterite ore price was between $44-47/wmt (on a CIF basis), with an average price up $0.5/wmt. Supply side, as the rainy season in the Philippines came to an end, Philippine nickel ore transactions turned brisk. Since the beginning of the Labour Day holiday, the shipments from the Philippines increased, with over 20 ships arriving at ports this week. It is expected that nickel ore arrivals will continue to hike next week. Demand side, although domestic NPI prices have recovered since before the holiday, domestic smelters were still inclined to maintain production using existing inventories due to high nickel ore prices. It is expected that the upstream and downstream will be in a deadlock in the short term.

Indonesian nickel ore

The 1.6% grade Indonesian laterite nickel ore price was between $39.6-49.9/wmt (on a CIF basis), with an average price up $0.05/wmt. Entering May, the premium of laterite nickel ores stayed high this week due to slow RKAB approval. Therefore, Indonesian smelters still purchased laterite nickel ore from distant islands. The mainstream traded premium of Indonesian nickel ores showed an upward trend in May, as smelters needed to restock with the depletion of inventories stockpiled in Q1. It is expected that short-term nickel ore prices will hold steady.

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