As Indonesia's nickel ore approval volume has been lower than expected, coupled with the impact of heavy rains, Indonesia's imports of Philippine nickel ore have hit a record high in the past two months, which has also driven up the prices of nickel products in China and Indonesia.

The rise in ferronickel prices in mainland China has strengthened the support for stainless steel prices.

According to statistics, in April and May this year, Indonesia's imports of nickel ore from the Philippines hit a record high, reaching about 500,000 tons per month, which was not only more than twice the amount in March, but also exceeded the total imports from the Philippines last year.

Market participants analyze that the current tight supply situation of Indonesian nickel may be eased by the middle of the year.