Posted on 21 Sep 2023
Chinese prices of nickel pig iron (NPI) softened during the past week under pressure from stainless producers, with the price of 8-10% grade NPI in East China's Jiangsu province under Mysteel's assessment reaching Yuan 1,185/mtu ($162/mtu) including delivery and the 13% VAT as of September 19, losing Yuan 5/mtu on week.
Stainless mills are trying to lower their procurement prices of the ferroalloy, as stainless prices are threatening to buckle under the weight of lackluster demand, Mysteel Global learned.
China's stainless prices in the physical market kept rangebound over the past week, with Mysteel assessing the price of 304/2B 2mm stainless cold-rolled coil in Wuxi at Yuan 16,000/t in-warehouse and including the 13% VAT as of September 19, unchanged from one week before.
However, domestic NPI smelters were unwilling to concede too much from their offering prices, as their smelting costs remain high thanks to higher prices of nickel concentrates, sources said. Many smelters are operating at a loss.
Nickel concentrate prices in China have strengthened further on expectations of limited availability, as shipments from the Philippines will likely decrease during the coming rainy season, Mysteel Global noted.
As of September 19, the price of Philippines-origin 1.3% nickel content concs under Mysteel's assessment had increased to $46/t CIF Lianyungang port in Jiangsu, gaining $1/t from one week earlier.
"In fact, the rise in prices of nickel concs slowed somewhat over the past week due to the losses that NPI smelters are suffering," a market source in Shanghai said.
Total inventories of nickel concs at China's 14 major ports have reversed down recently after the continuous rise over the prior six weeks, with the total volume lower by 1.7% on week at 10.67 million tonnes as of September 14, according to Mysteel's latest weekly survey. Within the total, the tonnage from the Philippines had declined by 2.5% on week to reach 10.34 million tonnes during that period.
Source:Mysteel Global
