Nickel Prices Declined and the Spot Transactions Increased

SHANGHAI, Sep 5 (SMM) - Due to the interest rate hikes and the domestic high temperature in August, the nickel prices remained at 170,000 yuan/mt for a long time and fluctuated widely. Due to Powell’s hawkish remark on August 26, nickel prices fell last week. In terms of fundamentals, the SHFE nickel prices were lower than LME nickel prices, hence the SHFE/LME price ratio dropped again. As the overseas pure nickel still suffered small losses, the customs clearance volume was less than expected last week. Affected by the decline in futures prices, the spot prices of Jinchuan nickel and NORNICKEL were low. In this scenario, the spot transactions increased. In terms of nickel briquette, the output of nickel sulphate continued to release. However, due to the insufficient nickel sulphate capacity of MHP-based and high-grade nickel matte-based production lines, the demand for nickel briquette may picked up again in the short term. According to the SMM research, some of the newly built MHP-based production lines will be available since October. Therefore, the pure nickel inventory may further decline in September, which may support the nickel prices.