Nickel cathode consumers replenish inventories actively
2024-04-17 10:57:27 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 17 Apr 24 - Stimulated by the continuous decline in nickel cathode prices, downstream customers' enthusiasm for replenishment increased on Tuesday. This Tuesday, mainstream prices for Chinese nickel cathode 99.96%min stood at RMB137,500-138,500/t (USD18,998-19,136/t) EXW D/P, down by RMB2,800/t (USD387/t) from Monday. Insiders noted that the current supply of nickel cathode keeps sufficient and producers' shipment pressure shows great, and expect that prices for Chinese nickel cathode would continue to drop in the coming week.
A trader in East China said that on Tuesday their customers were eager to purchase, spurred by the sharp drop in nickel cathode prices, which led to their stocks being reduced to zero today from about 60t at the beginning of the month. "We sold 3t of Jinchuan nickel cathode at RMB137,600/t (USD19,012/t) EXW D/P after rejecting the counteroffer on Tuesday and 1.5t of Jinchuan nickel cathode at RMB140,500/t (USD19,412/t) EXW D/P on Monday", a source from the company reported, adding that despite the increase in downstream consumers' purchases, nickel cathode supply remains sufficient and nickel prices will keep falling, and estimates that prices of Chinese nickel cathode might continue to decline in the following week.
With a regular monthly trade volume of about 700t, the trader sold 650t in March and expect to sell around 750t in April, holding no nickel cathode stock at the moment.
Another trader in East China revealed that the nickel cathode price fell sharply on Tuesday and one of their downstream customers who waited on the sidelines towards the market for a week and did not place an order made an order today. "We sold 4.5t of Jinchuan nickel cathode at RMB137,700/t (USD19,025/t) EXW on Tuesday after rejecting the customer's counter-offer and 1.5t of Jinchuan nickel cathode at RMB141,000/t (USD19,481/t) EXW yesterday", a source from the company mentioned, adding that the current supply of nickel cathode is sufficient and this price decline is expected to reach RMB138,000/t (USD19,067/t) EXW, and predicts that prices of Chinese nickel cathode would keep falling in the upcoming week.
Based on a regular monthly trade volume of about 300t, the trader saw a trading volume of 210t in March and expects to sell 230t in April, holding about 40t of nickel cathode stocks for the time being.
A trader in East China said that on Tuesday their customers were eager to purchase, spurred by the sharp drop in nickel cathode prices, which led to their stocks being reduced to zero today from about 60t at the beginning of the month. "We sold 3t of Jinchuan nickel cathode at RMB137,600/t (USD19,012/t) EXW D/P after rejecting the counteroffer on Tuesday and 1.5t of Jinchuan nickel cathode at RMB140,500/t (USD19,412/t) EXW D/P on Monday", a source from the company reported, adding that despite the increase in downstream consumers' purchases, nickel cathode supply remains sufficient and nickel prices will keep falling, and estimates that prices of Chinese nickel cathode might continue to decline in the following week.
With a regular monthly trade volume of about 700t, the trader sold 650t in March and expect to sell around 750t in April, holding no nickel cathode stock at the moment.
Another trader in East China revealed that the nickel cathode price fell sharply on Tuesday and one of their downstream customers who waited on the sidelines towards the market for a week and did not place an order made an order today. "We sold 4.5t of Jinchuan nickel cathode at RMB137,700/t (USD19,025/t) EXW on Tuesday after rejecting the customer's counter-offer and 1.5t of Jinchuan nickel cathode at RMB141,000/t (USD19,481/t) EXW yesterday", a source from the company mentioned, adding that the current supply of nickel cathode is sufficient and this price decline is expected to reach RMB138,000/t (USD19,067/t) EXW, and predicts that prices of Chinese nickel cathode would keep falling in the upcoming week.
Based on a regular monthly trade volume of about 300t, the trader saw a trading volume of 210t in March and expects to sell 230t in April, holding about 40t of nickel cathode stocks for the time being.
