This week, nickel prices experienced a sharp drop triggered by macro tightening expectations and a supply-side policy reversal. At the beginning of the week, nickel prices were still trading around 136,000 yuan/mt, but were subsequently pressured by a steadily rising US dollar index and higher US Treasury yields, which weighed on base metals prices. Adding to this, market rumors that Indonesia would significantly increase its full-year RKAB nickel ore quota reversed the previous supply contraction narrative of "quota tightening." Under the dual impact of macro and policy shocks, nickel prices fell below multiple support levels, including 130,000 and 127,000 yuan/mt. As of Friday, the cumulative weekly decline was nearly 6%, marking the largest weekly drop in recent months; LME nickel dropped to $16,700/mt, with a weekly loss of about 5%. In the spot market, the average price of SMM #1 refined nickel this week was 131,600 yuan/mt, down 8,250 yuan/mt WoW. The premium for Jinchuan nickel remained stable at 1,300-1,500 yuan/mt, while mainstream electrodeposited nickel discounts were in the -400 to -300 yuan/mt range. Affected by the steep decline in futures prices this week, downstream point-price activity was active and trading improved.
On the macro front, the biggest headwind this week came from the strong hawkish signal sent by the US Fed's June FOMC meeting. On June 18, the Fed left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.50%-3.75%, marking the fourth consecutive pause in interest rate cuts. The Fed's Summary of Economic Projections raised the median forecast for the federal funds rate in 2026 to 3.8% from 3.4% in March. This hawkish pivot boosted the US dollar index and pushed US Treasury yields higher, exerting significant pressure on base metals. Domestically, China's LPR quotes on June 22 remained unchanged, with the 1-year LPR at 3.0% and the 5-year and above LPR at 3.5%, continuing expectations of pro-growth policies.
On the inventory front, Shanghai bonded zone inventory this week stood at about 2,700 mt, flat WoW. China's social inventory was approximately 129,000 mt, up 2,700 mt WoW.
Nickel prices are currently under triple pressure from an abrupt shift in policy expectations, resonance of macro headwinds, and persistently high inventory overhang. The most-traded SHFE nickel contract is expected to trade in a core range of 125,000-135,000 yuan/mt next week.
