SHANGHAI, Sept. 7 (SMM) -- LME nickel prices opened at USD 20,800/mt, and closed at USD 20,827/mt overnight, down by USD 168/mt from a day earlier, with the highest price at USD 20,999/mt and the lowest price at USD 20,500/mt. Daily trading volumes were 2,684 lots, up 330 lots from a day earlier. Positions were 87,070 lots, up by 570 lots. LME nickel inventories were 101,610 mt, down 798 mt from a day earlier.

LME nickel prices were on downward track and hit a low of USD 20,500/mt, as exacerbated concern over expansion of European debt crisis weighed down on base metal market. LME nickel prices finally closed at USD 20,827/mt, down by USD 168/mt from a day earlier.

Market concern over European debt crisis outlook further exacerbated along with rumor that Greece will exit from the euro zone, Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel’s fail to win election and Italian government’s change of nation's austerity scale. In response, the US equity market opened 2% lower on Tuesday. Risk aversion sentiment continued to slightly weigh down on euro, while the US dollar rebounded for six consecutive days, with the US dollar closing above 76. NYNEX crude oil futures price closed with slightly gains, while London spot gold closed with slightly losses.

LME nickel prices bottomed out at the tail of the trading overnight. Technically speaking, LME nickel prices will rebound slightly on Wednesday. However, weighed by risk aversion sentiment, LME nickel prices initially test 5-day moving average. In the Shanghai nickel spot market, overnight’s LME nickel prices decline will negatively affect transactions in spot market, and SMM expects that spot nickel prices will move in the RMB 157,500-158,500/mt range on Wednesday.