A tightening in stainless scrap availability, combined with recent dips in nickel inventories on the London Metal Exchange, has brought a rare glimmer of hope to Europe’s deflated nickel bulls, deputy editor Fleur Ritzema wrote. Brazilian miner Vale announced that it would proceed with an IPO of a minority stake in its base metals division only if nickel and copper prices reached "appropriate" levels. Danielle Assalve had the story. China’s imports of the alloying metal surged 28.7% month-on-month in May, with future import levels dependent on the acceptance of foreign brands to the Shanghai Future Exchange’s nickel contract. Click here for a summary of China’s base metal imports for May. And HSBC’s flash China manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) reached a three-month high in June, providing support to LME and SHFE trading and market sentiment on Wednesday.