SHANGHAI, Sept. 17 (SMM) – LME nickel inventories are now trending lower, down from 460,098 tonnes on Jul. 31 to 447,786 tonnes on Sept. 15. Will falling LME nickel inventories give a boost to nickel prices when the stainless steel sector enters a traditionally high demand period? 

”After comparing the change in LME nickel inventories and nickel warrants on the SHFE, you will find that global nickel inventories are not down significantly, and it is only a shift of goods from LME to SHFE,” SMM nickel analyst points out. 

                                                         unit: 10,000 tonnes

Trading activities on the SHFE turned gradually brisk after the bourse introduced the trading of nickel futures contract from Mar. 27, 2015. 

“When combining with inventories in Shanghai bonded areas and warehouses in Nanda Road, nickel market sees no good chance of a sharp gain, despite the high-demand period for stainless steel,” SMM predicts. 

Nickel inventories at warehouses in Nanda Road, owned by CMST Development Co, were 61,000 tonnes in earlier September, according to SMM data.   

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