SMM Daily Review - 2011/10/19 Nickel Market

SHANGHAI, Oct. 20 (SMM) -- On Wednesday, LME nickel market opened at USD 18,800/mt and closed at USD 19,163/mt, up USD 308/mt from a day earlier, with the highest price at USD 19,200/mt and the lowest price at USD 18,550/mt. On Thursday, LME nickel prices fluctuated narrowly around USD 19,000/mt after opening at USD 19,001/mt during the European trading hours, as market sentiment was still weighed by unsolved European debt crisis. LME nickel prices remained fluctuation trend. LME nickel inventories were 89,478 mt, down 960 mt from a day earlier.

In the Shanghai nickel spot market, traded prices were flat from a day earlier. Mainstream traded prices of nickel from Russia were around RMB 138,000/mt, and mainstream traded prices of nickel from Jinchuan Group were in the RMB 139,500-140,000/mt range. When LME nickel prices slipped during the afternoon trading hours, transactions in spot market were negatively affected, with deals largely made during the morning trading hours. The current stagnant movement and dim outlook of LME nickel prices weighed down traders’ sentiment. Given the relatively quiet downstream demand, deals were largely made among traders, with few downstream consumers entering market.