UPDATE 2-China Sept nickel ore imports hit highest since at least 2016 as Indonesia ban looms

* China's Sept nickel ore imports at 7.13 mln T, up 24.6%
m/m
* Volumes from Indonesia rise 56% from Aug to 2.51 mln T
* Ban on Indonesian exports from Jan 2020 sparks rush for
ore
* Shipments from Philippines at 13 month-high of 4.39 mln T

(Adds analyst comment in paragraphs 11, 12)
By Tom Daly
BEIJING, Oct 25 (Reuters) - China's nickel ore imports in
September rose 24.6% from the previous month to their highest
since at least 2016, customs data showed on Friday, as
stockpiling accelerated ahead of a ban on shipments from top
miner Indonesia from January 2020.
China imported 7.13 million tonnes of nickel ores and
concentrates in total last month, according to the General
Administration of Customs.
That was 24% higher than a year earlier and the highest
monthly total in records on the customs database website going
back to January 2017.
Indonesia confirmed on Sept. 2 it would advance a ban on
nickel ore exports by two years, to the start of 2020, as it
seeks to process more of its resources at home. There were signs of stockpiling by China, the world's
biggest nickel ore buyer, in August, amid rumours of the ban,
but there was a bigger scramble in September.
China's imports from Indonesia last month were 2.51 million
tonnes, up 56% from August and up 47.5% from September 2018.
That was also the highest volume since at least 2016.
October imports are set to be higher still, said a major
purchaser in eastern China's Shandong province, who uses nickel
ore to produce nickel pig iron, a raw material for stainless
steel.
"Most of the material purchased in September will arrive in
October," he said.
China's stainless steel output is "not so good" at the
moment, said Xu Aidong, chief nickel analyst at Antaike. "All
the nickel ore they purchased may be for next year," she added,
expecting monthly imports to stay at or above 5 million tonnes
over the rest of 2019.
Indonesia's mining ministry has recommended an increase of
about 330,000 tonnes in the nickel ore export quota for miner PT
Aneka Tambang (Antam) MANTM.JK , although export permits are
only valid until December. "Between now and the end of the year, the amount of ore
coming out of Indonesia may well be 8-10 million tonnes more
than we would have thought, which is about 80,000 to 100,000
tonnes of nickel units," analyst Jim Lennon at Macquarie said in
London on Thursday.
"So that will be stockpiled in China, enabling the nickel
pig iron producers which use that ore to keep going at current
levels through to the middle of next year," he added.
Shipments to China from the Philippines, an alternative
supply source to Indonesia, but with lower-grade nickel ore, hit
a 13-month high of 4.39 million tonnes in September.
That was up 10% from August and up 14.5% from a year
earlier.

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Nick of time: China ramps up ore buys ahead of Indonesia ban
https://tmsnrt.rs/2BJayNq
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