MARKET TALK: China Unlikely To Curb Nickel Pig Iron Pdtn

China's rapidly growing output of nickel pig iron disastrous for country environmentally, but unlikely to lead to similar tightening measures government considering for aluminum, zinc industries, as Chinese market "acutely short of nickel," says Citigroup's Alan Heap. "As far as the Chinese government is concerned, it's a disaster." Notes government in past tried to shutdown blast furnaces but these were reopened to produce nickel pig iron; industry highly polluting, energy intensive. But Chinese government has mostly targeted energy-intensive industries which overheated, or producing exports. Forecasts China to produce 50,000 tons of nickel pig iron in 2007. LME 3-month nickel untraded in Asia, last at $47,300/ton, up +$5 on London PM kerb.