Latest Update in the China Nickel Market

Nornickel has resumed mining at the Oktyabrsky mine after the flood on April 12. Production was resumed ahead of schedule as the drainage work was completed. The mine recovery plan was updated, and it is expected that Oktyabrsky (annual ore output- 5 million mt) will fully resume production by the end of April. Production load has reached 60% of the planned level.

Shanghai base metals set for a mixed start on Tuesday morning. China on Tuesday kept the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) unchanged at 3.85% and five-year LPR at 4.65%. 

The dollar slumped to a six-week low against major peers on Monday, with Treasury yields near their lowest in five weeks, after the U.S. Federal Reserve reiterated its view that any spike in inflation was likely to be temporary.

SHFE nonferrous metals rose for the most part on Monday April 19, mirroring trading in global markets.

The following table shows the ferrous and nonferrous metals movement on the SHFE and DCE on April 19, 2021

Three-month LME copper closed 1.37% lower at $9,182/mt last Friday, while the most-traded SHFE 2106 copper contract shed 0.6% to end at 68,130 yuan/mt last Friday night.

The dollar fell to a four-week low against a basket of currencies on Friday, still smarting from a sharp drop in U.S. Treasury yields the previous session, and as investors increasingly bought into the Federal Reserve’s insistence it would keep an accommodative policy stance for a while longer.

SHFE nonferrous metals rose for the most part on Friday April 16 as China's first quarter GDP print slightly misses expectations.