SMM Morning Comment For Nickel Market On September 21

SHANGHAI, Sep 21 (SMM) – Overnight, the most-traded SHFE nickel contract opened at 161,500 yuan/mt, and closed at 163,540 yuan/mt, up 1,870 yuan/mt. Trading volume rose by 45,057 lots, and open interest decreased by 9,432 lots. On the macro front, market participants should pay attention to the Fed’s interest rate decision on September 21, CST. The current market expectation is 5.50%, which is unchanged from the previous value. Market participants mostly believe that the Fed won’t raise interest rates this time, which will have a positive effect on commodities. In terms of fundamentals, as stockpiling activity came to an end, coupled with rising nickle prices and weakening downstream demand, yesterday’s spot market transaction activity declined. In summary, it is expected that nickel prices may continue to fluctuate downward in the future.