SMM Daily Review – 2011/8/3 Nickel Market

SHANGHAI, Aug. 4 (SMM) -- LME nickel for delivery in three months opened at USD 24,650/mt and closed at USD 24,700/mt on Tuesday, up by USD 65/mt from a day earlier, with the highest price at USD 24,850/mt and the lowest price at USD 24,451/mt. LME nickel futures contract for delivery in three months fluctuated narrowly between 5-day and 10-day moving average after opening at USD 24,650/mt during the Asian trading hours on Wednesday, with prices hitting the lowest of USD 24,430/mt. Although LME nickel prices slipped after rallying for four consecutive days, LME nickel prices were still able to hold above 5-day moving average, and found support at USD 24,300/mt. LME nickel inventories were down by 42 mt to 102,900 mt.

In the Shanghai nickel spot market, spot prices were relatively soft due to Wednesday's LME nickel price decline. Purchasers’ acceptance towards spot nickel prices at RMB 180,000/mt was still low, so trading sentiment was still quiet in the market. In addition, volatile LME nickel prices dampened cargo-holders’ confidence, with limited transactions reported. Mainstream traded prices of nickel from Jinchuan Group were in the RMB 179,800-180,000/mt range, and mainstream traded prices of nickel from Russia were in the RMB 179,200-179,500/mt range. Few downstream consumers entered market, and deals were largely done among traders.