Spot nickel discounts further widened on SHFE nickel backwardation

Published: Oct 28, 2019 13:55 (GMT+8)
Russian nickel was offered in a discount of 400-300 yuan/mt against the SHFE 1911 contract

SHANGHAI, Oct 28 (SMM) – Shanghai spot nickel discounts widened in morning trades, as the Shanghai Futures Exchange nickel contract for November delivery which spot quotes were mostly based on saw a significant premium over the contract for December delivery.

In the Shanghai spot market, Russian nickel was offered in a discount of 400-300 yuan/mt against the SHFE 1911 contract, continuing widening since the spread flipped into a discount last Thursday.

The discount for Jinchuan materials expanded to 200-100 yuan/mt in the morning, compared to a maximum of 150 yuan/mt last Friday.

The Chinese producer Jinchuan lowered its quote for Shanghai market by 700 yuan/mt from Friday to 135,500 yuan/mt.

The SHFE 1911 nickel contract was about 3,600 yuan/mt higher than the 1912 contract in morning trades.

Weak demand also accounted for wider spot discounts, as downstream consumers held back from purchasing, even though SHFE nickel gave up initial gains to lows at the 135,500 yuan/mt level.

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