London 06/09/2016 - South Korea has bought 200 tonnes of nickel at a premium of $500 per tonne over London Metal Exchange (LME) cash prices, the country's Public Procurement Service (PPS) said on Tuesday.
PPS, which manages the country's strategic stockpile of commodities, purchased the nickel, with a minimum purity level of 99.8 percent, from Glencore.
The nickel itself is of Norwegian origin, which means that it is free of import tax. The material was delivered into the port of Incheon on a cost, insurance and freight (CIF) basis.
The last purchase of duty-free nickel by the PPS was at a premium $300 per tonne in February. Glencore also won that tender.
Elsewhere in Asia, spot premiums for nickel in Shanghai were last assessed at $70-90 per tonne CIF for non-SHFE deliverable cathodes or $80-100 for deliverable material.
(Editing by Mark Shaw)