Nickel Prices Grow Last Week on Supply Tightness

SHANGHAI, Apr 24 (SMM) - The hawkish Fed officials basically agreed that the current anti-inflation policy had not made significant progress. They insisted on continuing to raise the rates in the future. Some officials predicted that inflation would fall to 3.25% this year, and anti-inflation would still take some time. The successive hawkish speeches had a negative effect on commodity prices. Spot nickel trading remained sluggish since NORNICKEL nickel supply was tight and the prices were flat compared to those of Jinchuan nickel.  The NPI supply was also slightly tight. The market supply of stainless steel scrap stood low, and arrivals of Indonesia NPI in the Chinese market decreased. The spot stainless steel trades were slack, and the quotes varied greatly. The prices of 200-series stainless steel grew somewhat as the inventory dropped to a relatively low level. Short-term stainless steel spot prices will be stable with occasional falls. The spot nickel supply has tightened recently, and the demand has also weakened. SMM believes that nickel prices are unlikely to gain momentum.