Chinese nickel cathode market demand declines
2023-04-28 11:58:46 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 28 Apr 23 - This week, the demand from nickel cathode downstream customers continues to be quiet, and consumers only purchase according to orders. This Thursday, the mainstream prices of Chinese nickel cathode 99.96%min stood at RMB188,500-189,500/t (USD27,225-27,369/t) EXW D/P, up by RMB200/t (USD28.89/t) from Wednesday. Insiders noted that the sales of some nickel cathode suppliers have fallen by half at present, and expect that the prices of Chinese nickel cathode would go down in the coming week.
A trader in East China claimed that the demand of their downstream clients was still weak this week, especially orders from the electroplating industry declined. The estimated sales volume in April was about 400t, lower than about 600t in March. "We sold 10t at RMB188,500/t (USD27,225/t) EXW D/P this Thursday and 3t at RMB189,000/t (USD27,297/t) EXW D/P on Wednesday", the source said, adding that the demand in the nickel cathode market continues to be quiet currently, and predicts that the prices of Chinese nickel cathode would fall in the following week.
The trader, based on a regular monthly trading volume of about 800t, sold about 600t in March and expects to sell 400t or so in April, holding around 45t in stock at the moment.
Another trader in East China reported that their downstream customer demand continued to remain weak this week, and orders from some customers in the electroplating industry fell by more than half. "We sold 10t of nickel cathode at RMB189,000/t (USD27,297/t) delivered D/P this Thursday and 3t at RMB190,000/t (USD27,442/t) delivered D/P on Wednesday", the source noted, adding that their sales in April were about 40% lower than those in March and the market demand for nickel cathode continues to be quiet, and expects that the prices of Chinese nickel cathode would decline in the forthcoming week.
Based on a regular monthly trading volume of about 1,000t, the trader sold about 800t in March and expects to see an output of 500t or so in April, holding around 40t of stocks for the moment.
A trader in East China claimed that the demand of their downstream clients was still weak this week, especially orders from the electroplating industry declined. The estimated sales volume in April was about 400t, lower than about 600t in March. "We sold 10t at RMB188,500/t (USD27,225/t) EXW D/P this Thursday and 3t at RMB189,000/t (USD27,297/t) EXW D/P on Wednesday", the source said, adding that the demand in the nickel cathode market continues to be quiet currently, and predicts that the prices of Chinese nickel cathode would fall in the following week.
The trader, based on a regular monthly trading volume of about 800t, sold about 600t in March and expects to sell 400t or so in April, holding around 45t in stock at the moment.
Another trader in East China reported that their downstream customer demand continued to remain weak this week, and orders from some customers in the electroplating industry fell by more than half. "We sold 10t of nickel cathode at RMB189,000/t (USD27,297/t) delivered D/P this Thursday and 3t at RMB190,000/t (USD27,442/t) delivered D/P on Wednesday", the source noted, adding that their sales in April were about 40% lower than those in March and the market demand for nickel cathode continues to be quiet, and expects that the prices of Chinese nickel cathode would decline in the forthcoming week.
Based on a regular monthly trading volume of about 1,000t, the trader sold about 800t in March and expects to see an output of 500t or so in April, holding around 40t of stocks for the moment.
