China nickel stocks hit about 8.1 million tonnes at ports by the end of April 2009 and 6.5 million tonne of the total were piled at Rizhao, Lanshan, Lianyungang and Tianjin Port.

Import quantities of laterite-nickel ore and nickel concentrate keeps steady in the first quarter.

Customs' data shows that China has imported 570,000 tonne of nickel ore in March and totaled 1.69 million tonnes in the first three months sliding by 52% YoY. Arrivals from Indonesia reached 120,000 tonnes at the price of USD 37 per tonne in March 2009, when 410,000 tonnes flooded from Philippians at USD 21 per tonne.

Following slipping steps of electrolytic nickel price, import price of laterite-nickel ore plunged sharply compared with that in the last year. Due to the end of monsoon, import from Philippians shot up and arrived at ports together in March 2009. But volumes from Indonesia dropped in the same period, as their ferronickel enterprises still widely suspended production, heavily dragging down the demand for high grade nickel ore.

In March, China has purchased 21,288 tonnes of nickel concentrate from Australia, 11,658 tonnes from Russia and 5,615 tonnes from Botswana. The total nickel concentrate import in March reached 40,000 tonne, which were mainly delivered to Jinchuan, Gansu Province, the largest nickel production base in China.

(Sourced from mysteel.net)