In June, China imported 116,979mt of stainless steel ingots, up from 488mt imported in June 2019 and a rise of 57pc from May 2020. Of these, 95pc was of Indonesia origin.
China imported 3.4mn mt of nickel ore in July, up by 19pc from the prior year and up 106pc from May.
China’s main importing country was Philippines accounting for 3.07mn mt of nickel ore. Imports from Philippines, however, fell 2pc from the prior year but rose 129pc from the previous month.
Following Philippines, China imported 106,950mt of nickel ore from Indonesia, a decline of 89pc from the year prior and 32pc drop from the previous month.
China imported 245,985mt of nickel ore from New Caledonia, imports in July rose 152pc from the year prior and up 202pc from the preceding month.
China is the biggest producer of stainless steel products and the largest consumer of stainless steel scrap and nickel ore. China’s economy recovered sharply in Q2 (April-June) followed by the fiscal stimulus measures taken by its central bank. Infrastructure and other economic activities have picked up leading to high growth in Chinese imports of stainless steel ingots and nickel ore.