Shanghai Nickel Spot Prices Slip after Holiday (2012/10/8)

SHANGHAI, Oct. 8 (SMM) -- LME nickel for delivery in three months opened at USD 18,675/mt and closed at USD 18,322/mt, down USD 378/mt from a day earlier, with the intraday high at USD 18,718/mt and the low at USD 18,225/mt. Daily trading volumes were 2,789 lots, up 1lot. Positions were 111,006 lots, up by 2,373 lots. LME nickel inventories were 124,860 mt, up 1,746 mt from a day earlier.

During China’s National Day holiday, LME nickel prices hit a high at USD 18,920/mt. However, the lingering debt crisis in Spanish and Greece weighed down LME nickel prices to close at USD 18,322/mt last Friday, down USD 378/mt from a day earlier and down USD 78/mt from pre-holiday level.

LME base metal prices largely fluctuated narrowly as no significant progress was reported on the Greece and Spanish debt crisis. Data from the US Department of Labor revealed that the US nonfarm employment data for August was up 142,000, which was higher than market expectation. Meanwhile, the US unemployment rate rapidly to 7.8%, far lower than 8.2% expected, the lowest since January 2009. The positive unemployment data dampened market expectation that the Fed Reserve will introduce more monetary policy to boost economy. In response, the US dollar advanced. 

SMM expects that LME nickel prices will move in the USD 18,100-18,500/mt range and spot nickel prices shall hold between RMB 129,500-132,000/mt on Monday.