The average discount of high-grade NPI against refined nickel widened to 481.3 yuan/mt last week
Last week, the discount of high-grade NPI against refined nickel averaged 481.3 yuan/mtu, up 22.6 yuan/mtu WoW. NPI prices continued to rise last week. Due to sluggish terminal demand, social inventories of stainless steel fell slowly. Steel mills were not optimistic about the outlook, with small retail procurement transactions last week. Last Friday, steel mills in South China began to purchase, with traded prices rising limitedly. New Caledonia experienced the largest riots in 30 years, causing nickel prices to fluctuate upward since last Wednesday night. The slow RKAB approval drove refined nickel prices up. Therefore, the discount of high-grade NPI against refined nickel widened. As the disturbances in New Caledonia persist, the price gap between the two may continue to expand this week.
