China's refined nickel imports stood at 8,794.113 tonnes in August 2024, surging 107.14% month on month (MoM) and up 28.14% year on year (YoY), according to data from the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC). The imports over January-August, on the other hand, were down 14.71% from the same period last year, data showed.
Source: GACC
The more than doubled refined nickel imports in August were primarily contributed by the resources from Russia, which reported 5,241.89 tonnes in the month from 945.76 tonnes in July. Among them, 28.7% flowed to Shanghai via spot transactions from the bonded zone, and the remaining went to Beijing mainly with general trade in the form of long-term orders.
China's refined nickel exports fell palpably in August at 12,495.746 tonnes, down 16.87% MoM but up 810.38% from last year. The monthly fall was caused by the narrow export profits, which put the producers that are qualified to deliver LME contracts on the sidelines. Nevertheless, since the export margins were in the positive, some producers still exported half of their production.
Source: GACC
According to GACC data, China's refined nickel exports mostly went to LME delivery warehouses in Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore.
Looking ahead, though China is likely to remain a major destination of Russia's refined nickel exports after the new round of sanctions posted by the US and UK, the volume could hardly maintain the current high level in the face of slow digestion of resources from Russia, which are now quoted with discounts.
In addition, Russia President Putin suggested on September 11 that Russia may consider restricting the exports of nickel, titanium, and uranium, which calls for attention.
Concerning China's refined nickel exports, the volume is highly sensitive to the export margins, which have been low at present. Therefore, it seems that the domestic refineries now focus on the delivery of long-term orders with downstream players. But on the other hand, the export market will remain a key method to balance the domestic supply and demand with two new projects scheduled to come on stream by end-2024.
Written by Aggie Hu, huchenying@mysteel.com
