Chinese prices for nickel pig iron (NPI) fell for the first time since early July despite continued strength in the upstream nickel ore market, raising questions over whether the latter is still sufficient to prop up NPI prices in China.
Activity in China's NPI market has been muted since early October, with the lack of spot trading resulting in liquidity issues for some participants, in turn causing some traders to offload material at lower levels. This selling off of material by traders, together with falling stainless steel prices in the country, has weighed on the NPI market, sources told Fastmarkets.Previously, the main supporting factor for China's NPI...