China Nov nickel ore imports from Indonesia surge ahead of export ban

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - China's monthly nickel
ore imports from top miner Indonesia rose to a near 6-year high
in November although its overall intake fell, as buyers raced to
secure as much material as possible ahead of a ban on Indonesian
exports starting in January.
Nickel ore shipments from Indonesia were 3.33 million tonnes
in November, up 7% from 3.11 million tonnes in October, which
was the highest since January 2014, and up 143% from a year
earlier. Overall, China's nickel ore imports however fell 12.5% in
November from the previous month. China imported 5.99 million
tonnes of nickel ore and concentrate last month, according to
data from the General Administration of Customs. That was down
from 6.85 million tonnes in October but up 46% from 4.1 million
tonnes a year earlier.
Nickel ore is mainly used in China to make nickel pig iron,
a raw material for stainless steel production. China's nickel
pig iron imports in November rose 35.6% to 229,030 tonnes from
October, customs data showed. Imports were up nearly 150% from
92,753 tonnes a year earlier.
Jakarta in September confirmed it would expedite a ban on
nickel ore exports by two years to the start of 2020 as it looks
to process more resources at home, sparking a rush to ship ore
out of the Southeast Asian country by the end of this year.
Indonesia imposed a temporary halt on ore exports in late
October after discovering violations amid the scramble but said
two weeks later it had allowed some companies to resume
shipments. Indonesia exported 2.7 million tonnes of nickel ore worth
$112 million in November, data from the country's statistics
agency showed earlier this month. Shipments in the first 11
months of 2019 totalled 29.34 million tonnes. China's imports of nickel ore from the Philippines, an
alternative source of supply but with lower-grade ore, came in
at 2.48 million tonnes in November, down from 3.38 million
tonnes in October and down 2.4% from a year earlier.