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Hong Kong. Chinese nickel pig iron producers are aiming to get around an Indonesian ban on nickel ore exports by buying a shipment of slightly lower grade material and labeling it as “iron ore”, two Chinese industry sources said.

Market talk of the move at a time of weak seasonal demand has curbed Chinese buying of nickel ores from rival supplier the Philippines, traders said, and helped depress ore prices that have already fallen from record levels in May.

“The sign of a supply rise from Indonesia has helped push down nickel ore prices,” said a source with direct knowledge of the shipment at a Chinese nickel pig iron maker, whose firm imported Indonesian ores before the ban.

Read more at:  http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/china-nickel-ore-buyers-said-aim-skirt-indonesia-ban/