Metals & Mining Theme, Non-Ferrous

September 23, 2024

Platts launches daily nickel ore CIF China spot price assessments

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, has begun publishing daily nickel ore CIF China spot price assessments, effective Sept. 23.

The launch responds to growing interest from the market in seaborne nickel ore prices amid relatively tight supply in the Asia-Pacific region, and elevated demand from China from the stainless steel and battery industries.

The new assessments complement existing Platts assessments for the nickel value chain, including FOB Indonesia nickel pig iron (NPI), DDP China and CIF Northeast Asia nickel sulfate and CIF North Asia mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP).

The nickel ore assessments 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 full assessment specifications are as follows:

Assessment Symbol Quality Volume Dimensions Location Timing Payment Terms Unit of measurement
High-grade Nickel Ore CIF China ANIOC00 1.6% Ni (1.5-1.8% may be normalized), 30% typical moisture content Typical 50,000mt Lumpy Main Chinese ports Arrival within 14-60 days Letter of Credit at Sight $/wmt
Low-grade Nickel Ore CIF China ANINO00 1.3% Ni (1% to below 1.5% may be normalized), 30% typical moisture content Typical 50,000mt Lumpy Main Chinese ports Arrival within 14-60 days Letter of Credit at Sight $/wmt

Platts will additionally publish monthly averages for the daily price assessments of high-grade (ANIOC03) and low-grade (ANINO03) nickel ore.

The first monthly average calculations will update on Oct. 31, reflecting the average of daily assessments published throughout October.

Platts first proposed the launch on Aug. 30, in a subscriber note available here: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/083024-platts-proposes-to-launch-daily-nickel-ore-cif-china-spot-price-assessments

Following market feedback, Platts published revised assessment specifications in a Sept. 20 subscriber note: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/092024-platts-to-launch-daily-nickel-ore-cif-china-spot-price-assessments.

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 will be considered for the daily nickel ore CIF China assessments.

A full description of Platts assessments methodology can be found here: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/plattscontent/_assets/_files/en/our-methodology/methodology-specifications/platts-assessments-methodology-guide.pdf .

The assessments are published in Platts Metals Daily, Platts Nonferrous Metals Alert and in the Platts price database. The assessments are included on pages MTL/PMA8888 alongside Platts' full suite of battery metals assessments, as well as on pages MTL/PMA0663.

Please send feedback, comments and questions to PL_Asia_Nonferrous@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com. 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 make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.