Nickel prices climb to 19-mth high

Nickel concentrate imports by China, largest user of the metal, reached the highest level in 19 months as rising metal prices encouraged smelters to purchase the raw material from overseas to boost output. Imports were 68,073 tonnes last month, the highest since August 2012, according to Bloomberg's calculations based on Chinese customs data.

The industrial metal, used to make stainless steel, climbed 29 per cent this year, the best performer among the main six base metals on the London Metal Exchange after Indonesia, the world's biggest producer of mined nickel, banned exports of unprocessed ores in January.

"Some domestic smelters bought a lot from overseas amid rising nickel prices," said Celia Wang, a nickel analyst with Beijing Antaike Information Development Co.

The March import figure was obtained after deducting laterite ores from Indonesia and the Philippines from the nation's total nickel ore imports. China combines nickel concentrate and laterite ores, both used to produce a cheaper alternative of refined metal, in its monthly import data.

Nickel-ore shipments from Indonesia declined to 907,279 tons in March from 3.1 million tonnes (mt) in February, the customs data showed. Imports fell due to some delays in customs clearing, said Antaike's Wang.

Refined copper imports rose 16 per cent to 324,383 tonnes in March from 279,293 tonnes in February, according to the customs data. Exports of the metal used in electric wires and water pipes were 13,980 tonnes, compared with 15,645 tonnes in February, the data showed.