30 Aug 2024 | 09:04 UTC

Platts proposes to launch daily nickel ore CIF China spot price assessments

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, is proposing to launch daily nickel ore CIF China spot price assessments, effective Sept. 23, 2024.

This proposal is in response to growing interest from the market in seaborne nickel ore prices amid supply tightness out of the Asia Pacific region, reflecting elevated demand from China from the stainless steel and battery industries.

China is the top importer of nickel ore, having bought about 44 million mt from the seaborne market in 2023, according to China General Administration of Customs data. The country is a leading producer of stainless steel, the biggest end-use sector of nickel ore. For the battery sector, China also produces nickel sulfate and mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), which use nickel ore as its main raw material.

The nickel ore assessments would complement existing Platts nickel assessments which include FOB Indonesia nickel pig iron (NPI), DDP China and CIF Northeast Asia nickel sulfate and CIF North Asia mixed hydroxide precipitate.

The proposed nickel ore assessments would consist of two ore grades serving distinct downstream markets, with high-grade ore feeding into NPI production used in the stainless steel sector, and low-grade ore mainly used to produce MHP for the battery sector.

The proposed assessments would have the following specifications:

Assessment Quality Volume Dimensions Location Timing Payment Terms Unit of measurement
High-grade Nickel Ore CIF China

1.6% Ni

(1.5-1.8% may be normalized)

 Typical 50,000mt Lump Eastern China Arrival within 14-30 days Letter of Credit at Sight $/mt
Low-grade Nickel Ore CIF China

1.2% Ni

(1% to below 1.5% may be normalized )

Typical 50,000mt

 Lump Eastern China Arrival within 14-30 days Letter of Credit at Sight $/mt

Platts is additionally proposing to reflect an impurity specification and is seeking feedback on any impurities which may have an impact on prices.

Platts spot price assessments consider market information reported to Platts and published throughout the day, including firm bids and offers, transactions and indications, as well as any other data deemed relevant to the assessment process. Market information received before the 4:30 pm Singapore (0830 GMT) timestamp would be considered for the daily nickel ore CIF China assessments.

A full description of Platts assessments methodology can be found here .

The assessments would be published in Platts Metals Daily, Platts Nonferrous Metals Alert and in the Platts price database.

Platts invites feedback, comments and questions on this proposal to PL_Asia_Nonferrous@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com by Sept. 11, 2024.

For written comments, please provide a clear indication if comments are not intended for publication by Platts for public viewing. Platts will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.