Shanghai spot nickel trades remain poor on expectations for lower prices

SHANGHAI, Aug 15 (SMM) – Spot nickel trades in Shanghai remained poor this week, as traders and downstream consumers held off on making purchases in anticipation of a pull-back in prices, which had soared in recent weeks.

Quotes for Russian nickel remained in a discount of 300 yuan/mt against the September contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange on the morning of Thursday August 15, while those for Jinchuan materials were in a premium of 900-1,000 yuan/mt.

Despite poor trades, Russian nickel sellers held back from deepening their discounts, which have been stayed at current levels for about half a month.

Jinchuan premiums edged down this morning, due to greater availability and as downstream consumers remained on the sidelines.

SHFE nickel remained at highs and hovered around 123,500 yuan/mt this morning.

The producer Jinchuan raised its offer by 500 yuan/mt to 124,000 yuan/mt for Shanghai market this morning, and most trades were done at 123,100-124,500 yuan/mt.