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Singapore's Abaxx Commodities Exchange thinks a new nickel sulphate contract could be the answer. The sulphate market has been forecast by research house Roskill to grow at an annual rate of 22% over the current decade as the green mobility revolution accelerates. China's imports of nickel sulphateTRADE BOOMChina's surging imports of nickel sulphate are a reflection of the product's stunning growth as battery cathode input. China's nickel imports by product 2020-2023PRICING PROBLEMSNone of this new Indonesia-China nickel trade has a natural exchange pricing home. LME nickel trading volumes have stabilised but are still running significantly below levels seen prior to the March 2022 trading halt.

Persons: Antara, It's, Roskill, Mike Harrison Organizations: PT Vale Indonesia, REUTERS Acquire, London Metal Exchange, Abaxx Commodities, Canadian, Technologies, Shanghai Futures Exchange, EV, Imports, China's, Class, Global Commodity Holdings, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Sorowako, South Sulawesi, Indonesia, China, Finland, South Africa, South Korea

LAUNCESTON, Australia, June 20 (Reuters) - Seaborne thermal coal prices in Asia have slumped to the lowest in two years as weakening demand in Europe and falling liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices outweigh strong demand in the top-importing region. Thermal coal imports for Asia, Europe vs Newcastle Index priceEUROPEAN INFLUENCEEurope is also having an impact on Asian seaborne thermal coal prices as demand in Europe drops, which in turn sees regional swing suppliers such as South Africa pivot back to Asia. However, Asia is on track to import nearly 4 million metric tons from South Africa in June, up from the 2.28 million that arrived in December. Asia's total imports of seaborne thermal coal are expected by Kpler to be 76.49 million metric tons in June, down from May's 80.01 million. It's clear that lack of demand isn't driving down Asian coal prices, rather it's cheaper spot LNG prices and the diversion of coal from Europe that are the main factors.

Persons: globalCOAL, It's, Kpler, Sonali Paul Organizations: Indonesia, LNG, Argus, Japan, Newcastle, Atlantic, Reuters, Thomson Locations: LAUNCESTON, Australia, Asia, Europe, China, India, Russian, Ukraine, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, South Africa, U.S, May's

To be sure, China's imports of thermal coal from Australia, the world's second-biggest coal exporter, still lag well behind the 19.29 million tonnes in April from top supplier Indonesia. Australian thermal coal also tends to head to southern ports, but the grade most often imported by China has a higher energy content than those from Indonesia, meaning Australian fuel tends to compete directly with local supplies. China and India imports of Australian thermal coalINDIA SWITCHES TO SOUTH AFRICAWhile China has been snapping up Australian thermal coal, volumes being shipped to India, the world's second-largest importer, have been slipping. India's total imports of thermal coal are expected to rise to 14.77 million tonnes in April, with Indonesia taking the lion's share at 9.66 million tonnes. As Australian thermal coal has left India's import mix, imports from rivals such as South Africa have moved higher.

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The global nickel market flipped from deficit to surplus over the course of 2022, according to the International Nickel Study Group (INSG). Indonesia's mined nickel production expanded by 48% to 1.58 million tonnes in 2022, according to the INSG. However, as Indonesian production of Class II nickel rises, the Class I market shrinks. Around 70% of the physical nickel supply chain is now priced at a discount to the LME benchmark. LME nickel volumes slumped by 28% last year and January's activity was 60% lower than that of January 2022.

Benchmark Australian thermal coal at Newcastle Port closed last week at $195.13 a tonne, down from the $249.25 the week prior to the attack on Ukraine. But these fears were never fully realised, largely because Russian commodities were re-routed to new buyers and some consuming nations cut consumption of commodities such as natural gas. There are ongoing consequences of the initial spike in commodity prices, with retail fuel and electricity costs in many countries still well above pre-invasion levels. Such a situation maintains China's access to cheap Russian commodities, increases Moscow's dependence on Beijing, while keeping Western countries focused on the war and its costs to their economies and political unity. It's also worth noting that in the months after the invasion much commentary was devoted to how Russia was benefiting from the higher commodity prices and how the Western sanctions on Moscow's exports were failing.

☆ Column: The devil's metal strikes again in Trafigura nickel fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Andy Home | Thomson Reuters | Senior Metals Columnist Who Previously Covered Industrial Metals Markets For Metals Week | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Appearances can be deceptive when it comes to nickel, as Trafigura has just found out half a millennium later. Just as it's impossible to say whether some of the recent price volatility on the LME nickel contract was down to Trafigura restructuring hedge positions. The problem is that LME nickel trading has been volatile and unpredictable ever since last year's meltdown. There is now also a growing crisis of confidence in the world of physical nickel trading. Nickel could really do with a reputational break but recent history suggests it's just a matter of time before the devil's metal strikes again.

While the Chinese ban has been lifted, it's unlikely that buyers will flock back to Australian thermal coal, given the availability of cheaper, and similar quality, coal from Russia. The weakness in prices wasn't limited to Australian thermal coal, with Indonesian grades also dropping. Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of thermal coal, while Australia ranks second and Russia third. Russian thermal coal from Vostochny port, which is largely being bought by China after Japan curbed imports following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has also been weakening. Prices for Indonesia, Russia and Australia thermal coalVOLUMES SLIPThe softer prices for thermal coal are occurring as demand for seaborne cargoes appears to be weakening among Asia's top two importing nations.

LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - March 2022 will go down in the history books as the moment the global nickel market broke down. The search is on for a new nickel price discovery process. Global Commodities Holdings (GCH) thinks it has a solution, a blast from the LME's own distant past that could have far-reaching consequences for industrial metals trading. This is self-evidently true of the LME nickel contract, which simply could not absorb the scale of short positions accumulated by China's Tsingshan Group. It may not just be nickel players keeping a close eye on GCH's proposed new metals pricing solution.

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