SHANGHAI, Sep. 30 (SMM) -- On Wednesday night, LME nickel prices opened at USD 23,200/mt and closed at USD 23,200/mt, up by USD 5/mt or 0.02% from a day earlier, with the highest price at USD 23,400/mt and the lowest price at USD 22,928/mt. Daily trading volumes were 1,723 lots and positions were 96,934 lots. LME nickel inventories were up by 450 mt to 122,658 mt.

LME base metals closed higher on Wednesday, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and upbeat Chinese manufacturing data. LME copper prices hit USD 8,075/mt on September 29, the highest since August 2008, fueling other base metal prices. In addition, HSBC announced yesterday China's manufacturing PMI was up to 52.9, reaching a 5-month high, indicating that China’s manufacturing has been improving mildly. According to analysts, prudent growth of domestic demand as well as steady improvement of overseas demand will continue to promote global economy recovery, but the recovery pace is still slowing.

Combination blows on real estate market from China’s regulators triggered further concern over metal demand in China. SMM believes that LME base metal prices will slip during the Asian trading hours, and will fluctuate between USD 22,600-23,200/mt on Thursday.

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