Arbitrage losses have put downward pressure on the Shanghai cif full-plate nickel premium, but the other Chinese nickel premiums were unchanged week on week, as were those in the United States and Europe.
Chinese cif full-plate nickel premiums edged down on the basis of widened arbitrage losses European premiums remained flat across the board despite positive macroeconomic sentiment US briquettes were more in demand than 4x4s this week, marking a change in recent spot-market activity.China premiums edge downFastmarkets assessed the Chinese nickel cif full-plate premium at $180-200 per tonne on February 26, widening downward down by $10 per tonne from the previous week.All the reported deals were at the lower end of the new $180-200 per tonne range. The market consensus was that this resulted from some cargo-holders' willingness to lower their prices to achieve increased sales.Elsewhere, Fastmarkets assessed the premium for Shanghai bonded nickel, 99.8% purity, stable at $200-210 per tonne on February 26. This price has not altered since December 4, 2018.China's import window has remained closed over the past week, with importers likely to lose around 2,500 yuan ($374)...