Nickel Market Report May 2017

Content
Abstract 1
1 Company news 1
1.1 Baotong Nickel halts production for equipment maintenance 1
1.2 Jiangdu Xinma Moulding halts ferronickel production 1
1.3 Chizhou Xi’en produces nickel sulfate in full capacity 1
2 Domestic market review 1
2.1 Nickel cathode prices fluctuate downward 1
2.2 Ferronickel prices down further sharply 2
2.3 Nickel sulfate prices down continuously 3
2.4 Lateritic nickel ore prices down continuously in ports of China 3
3 International market review 4
3.1 LME nickel prices down further 4
3.2 Philippine lateritic nickel ore prices down further 4
4 Production and stocks data 5
4.1 Chinese nickel cathode output down by 4.4% MOM in May 5
4.2 China’s ferronickel output down by 20% MOM in May 5
4.3 Chinese nickel sulfate output down by 1.8% MOM in May 6
4.4 Chinese lateritic nickel ore stocks up by 14.7% MOM in late May 7
5 Import data analysis 7
5.1 China’s refined nickel and nickel alloy imports up by 52.1% MOM in Apr 2017 7
5.2 China’s ferronickel imports down by 18.1% MOM in Apr 2017 8
5.3 China’s imports for lateritic nickel ore up by 139% in Apr 2017 10
5.4 China’s nickel hydrometallurgy intermediates imports down by 16.3% MOM in Apr 11
6 Market outlook 12
6.1 Nickel cathode 12
6.2 Ferronickel 12
6.3 Nickel salt 12
6.4 Lateritic nickel ore 12


Graph content

Graph 1 Jinchuan nickel cathode price in the Chinese spot market from Apr to May (RMB/t) 2
Graph 2 Norilsk nickel cathode prices in the Chinese spot market from Apr to May (RMB/t) 2
Graph 3 Inco nickel prices in the Chinese spot market from Apr to May (RMB/t) 2
Graph 4 Chinese ferronickel 10%min prices from Apr to May (RMB/mtu) 3
Graph 5 Chinese ferronickel 1.5% prices from Apr to May (RMB/t, ex works) 3
Graph 6 Chinese battery grade nickel sulfate prices from Apr to May (RMB/t) 3
Graph 7 Chinese NCM 523 precursor prices from Apr to May (RMB/t) 3
Graph 8 Chinese electroplating grade nickel sulfate prices from Apr to May (RMB/t) 3
Graph 9 Chinese lateritic nickel ore 1.8%min prices in ports from Apr to May (RMB/t) 4
Graph 10 Chinese lateritic nickel ore 1.5%min in ports from Apr to May (RMB/t) 4
Graph 11 LME nickel prices from Apr to May (USD/t) 4
Graph 12 Stocks for LME nickel from Apr to May (t) 4
Graph 13 Prices for Philippine origin lateritic nickel ore 1.5% on CIF China basis from Apr to May (USD/t) 5
Graph 14 Prices for Philippine origin lateritic nickel ore 1.8% on CIF China basis from Apr to May (USD/t) 5
Graph 15 China’s nickel cathode output from Jan 2016 to May 2017 by month (t) 5
Graph 16 China’s ferronickel output from Jan 2016 to May 2017 by month (10kt) 6
Graph 17 China’s ferronickel output from Jan 2016 to May 2017 by province and month (10kt) 6
Graph 18 Chinese nickel sulfate output by month from Jan 2016 to May 2017 (t) 6
Graph 19 Lateritic nickel ore stocks in China from Jan 2016 to May 2017 (kt) 7
Graph 20 China’s monthly imports for refined nickel from Jan 2016 to Apr 2017 (t) 7
Graph 21 China’s monthly imports for refined nickel from Jan 2016 to Apr 2017 (t) 7
Graph 22 China’s monthly imports for ferronickel from Jan 2016 to Apr 2017 (10kt) 9
Graph 23 China’s ferronickel imports from Jan 2016 to Apr 2017 by origin country (t) 9
Graph 24 China’s monthly imports for lateritic nickel ore from Jan 2016 to Apr 2017 (10kt) 10
Graph 25 China’s monthly imports for Philippines origin lateritic nickel ore from Jan 2016 to Apr 2017 (10kt) 10
Graph 26 China’s monthly imports for nickel hydrometallurgy intermediates from Jan 2016 to Apr 2017 (t) 11
Graph 27 China’s nickel hydrometallurgy intermediates from Jan 2016 to Apr 2017 (t) 11


Table Content

Table 1 China’s output for ternary precursor (Unit: t) 7
Table 2 Statistics on imported refined nickel of China in Apr 8
Table 3 China’s top 10 importers for refined nickel in Apr 8
Table 4 China’s imports for ferronickel in April 2017 9
Table 5 China’s top 5 ferronickel importers in April 9
Table 6 China’s imports for nickel ore in April 10
Table 7 China’s top 10 importers for nickel ore in Apr 11
Table 8 China’s top 5 importers for nickel hydrometallurgy intermediates in Apr 2017 12