Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., the Philippines’ No. 3 nickel producer, is expected to raise $600 million (P26.9 billion) in a Manila initial public offering (IPO) in March, sources told bworldonline.com, taking advantage of higher prices and exports triggered by a ban on shipments of ore from Indonesia.

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One banking source familiar with the matter said pre-marketing for the issue, aiming to raise as much as P26.9 billion in the first local commodity IPO since Coal Asia Holdings, Inc. in 2012, would start in early March.

On Friday, January 9, the day’s biggest mover was the cash price of primary Indian nickel, which saw a 1.9% decline to INR 968.70 ($15.49) per kilogram. Following a couple days of improvement, the nickel spot price weakened by 0.9% on the LME. Prices closed at $15,310 per metric ton. The nickel 3-month price changed direction with a 0.8% drop. After two days of improving prices, the metal finished at $15,400 per metric ton on the LME.

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Chinese stainless steel prices were mixed for the day. The price of Chinese ferro-chrome remained essentially flat at CNY 10,900 ($1,754) per metric ton. Chinese ferro-moly stayed flat at around CNY 88,000 ($14,162) per metric ton.

Weakening prices followed two days of improvement as the price of Chinese primary nickel dropped 0.3% to CNY 111,100 ($17,879) per metric ton. For the fifth day in a row, the Allegheny Ludlum 316 stainless surcharge remained essentially flat at $1.01 per pound. For the fifth consecutive day, the price of Chinese 316 stainless coil held flat at CNY 23,700 ($3,814) per metric ton. The price of Chinese 304 stainless coil remained steady at CNY 16,700 ($2,688) per metric ton. The price of Chinese 316 stainless steel scrap held steady at CNY 13,150 ($2,116) per metric ton.