Chinese nickel cathode consumers make purchases cautiously
2023-03-30 11:57:11 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 30 Mar 23 - This week, nickel cathode market demand keeps basically stable compared to last week, and consumers only make purchases according to orders, without the willingness of building a large volume of stocks. On Wednesday, mainstream prices for Chinese nickel cathode 99.96%min stood at RMB187,000-190,000/t (USD27,152-27,588/t) D/P, up by RMB1,000/t (USD145/t) from Tuesday. Insiders noted that at present consumers remain cautious in purchasing, and expect that prices for Chinese nickel cathode would level off in the coming week.
A trader in the East China market claimed that their downstream customers were cautious in purchasing this week and waited on the sidelines towards the market, and the overall deals of nickel cathode showed weak. "On Wednesday we sold 15t of nickel cathode 99.96%min at RMB187,000/t (USD27,152/t) EXW D/P and 10t at RMB186,000/t (USD27,007/t) EXW D/P on Tuesday", the source said, adding that the price of nickel cathode hit a bottom and rebounded this week, but the overall market demand for nickel cathode has not improved significantly, and predicts that prices for Chinese nickel cathode would hover at the current level in the following week.
Based on a monthly trading volume of about 800t, the trader sold 400t in February and expects to see an output of 600t or so in March, holding about 50t of stocks for the time being.
Another trader in the East China market reported that their downstream customers were cautious in purchasing this week, and customers who originally purchased 3t once only purchase about 1.5t at a time now. "On Wednesday we refused to sell nickel cathode below RMB190,500/t (USD27,660/t) delivered D/P, while on Tuesday we could accept the price as low as RMB189,500/t (USD27,515/t) delivered D/P. We sold 1.5t at RMB190,500/t (USD27,660/t) delivered D/P today and 3t at RMB189,500/t (USD27,515/t) delivered D/P yesterday", the source noted, adding that this week nickel cathode prices stopped declining and rebounded, but market deals remain weak, and expects that prices for Chinese nickel cathode would keep steady in the upcoming week.
With a monthly trading volume of about 1,000t, the trader sold around 650t in February and expects to sell about 800t in March, holding about 40t of stocks for the moment.
A trader in the East China market claimed that their downstream customers were cautious in purchasing this week and waited on the sidelines towards the market, and the overall deals of nickel cathode showed weak. "On Wednesday we sold 15t of nickel cathode 99.96%min at RMB187,000/t (USD27,152/t) EXW D/P and 10t at RMB186,000/t (USD27,007/t) EXW D/P on Tuesday", the source said, adding that the price of nickel cathode hit a bottom and rebounded this week, but the overall market demand for nickel cathode has not improved significantly, and predicts that prices for Chinese nickel cathode would hover at the current level in the following week.
Based on a monthly trading volume of about 800t, the trader sold 400t in February and expects to see an output of 600t or so in March, holding about 50t of stocks for the time being.
Another trader in the East China market reported that their downstream customers were cautious in purchasing this week, and customers who originally purchased 3t once only purchase about 1.5t at a time now. "On Wednesday we refused to sell nickel cathode below RMB190,500/t (USD27,660/t) delivered D/P, while on Tuesday we could accept the price as low as RMB189,500/t (USD27,515/t) delivered D/P. We sold 1.5t at RMB190,500/t (USD27,660/t) delivered D/P today and 3t at RMB189,500/t (USD27,515/t) delivered D/P yesterday", the source noted, adding that this week nickel cathode prices stopped declining and rebounded, but market deals remain weak, and expects that prices for Chinese nickel cathode would keep steady in the upcoming week.
With a monthly trading volume of about 1,000t, the trader sold around 650t in February and expects to sell about 800t in March, holding about 40t of stocks for the moment.
