Singapore 25/08/2016 - China’s nickel ore and concentrate imports fell 34.3 percent year-on-year and 6.7 percent month-on-month to 3.29 million tonnes in July, according to latest data from Chinese customs.
Of the July imports, 3.16 million tonnes were from the Philippines, which was a 35.9-percent decline from the same month of last year.
Total nickel ore and concentrate imports fell 26.2 percent year-on-year to 14.47 million tonnes in January-July. Those from the Philippines were down 27.3 percent year-on-year at 13.84 million tonnes over that period.
The decrease in imports so far this year reflects a slowdown in shipments from the Philippines earlier this year due to heavy rains that hampered mining and transport, sources said.
Market participants are watching for any signs of disruptions to Philippine nickel ore exports after the country suspended several mines during its mining audit in the country. But so far major producers have not been affected, causing the market to downplay the effect of the Philippines' mining review on nickel ore supply.
Meanwhile, Chinese refined nickel and nickel alloy imports slipped 40.6 percent year-on-year and 24.1 percent month-on-month to 28,193 tonnes in July.
Imports totalled 260,482 tonnes in the first seven months of the year, which is an increase of 71.2 percent on the same period of 2015.
The decline in June is largely seen stemming from the lack of import arbitrage opportunities. Importing in July would result in an average loss of 3,000 yuan per tonne, a Guangzhou-based nickel analyst estimated.
China's ferronickel imports rose 56 percent year-on-year to 92,240 tonnes in July, taking year-to-date imports to 557,208 tonnes. This is a 46.8-percent increase from the same 2015 period.
Ferronickel imports have remained strong due to the ramp-up of NPI projects in Indonesia.
Ferronickel imports from Indonesia to China jumped by a factor of 5.5 to 74,493 tonnes in July, taking imports to 390,706 tonnes in January-July. This is a more than four-fold year-on-year rise.
(Editing by Mark Shaw)