In the Philippines, bolstered by the firm support of last week's high-priced transactions from northern mines, traders demonstrated strong price support, driving overall Chinese CIF offers higher. Prices for 1.3% grade nickel ore rose to $48/wmt, while the price range for 1.5% grade climbed to $59-$62/wmt. The Indonesian market strengthened in tandem. The first-period domestic benchmark price (HPM) for February increased by approximately $2-$3/wmt month-on-month, while the market premium rose by another $3-$5. Combined, this led to a one-time, significant increase of $5-$8/wmt in the delivered cost of mainstream pyrometallurgical nickel ore, while hydrometallurgical ore prices also rose by $2-$3. This across-the-board increase signals that the supply tightness expectations triggered by the slow RKAB approval process have now fully translated into actual cost escalation across the industrial chain.