Spot price of nickel chloride on April 1, 2020

On July 16, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate average price remained stable.

[SMM Nickel Flash] SMM learned that Typhoon Bavi caused limited disruption to the production of domestic high-grade NPI and stainless steel mills, with only a few plants in certain regions temporarily suspending production for 1-3 days, without impacting the overall supply-demand pattern. However, the typhoon led to varying degrees of delay in the shipment schedules of imported nickel pig iron over the past half month. With port shipping gradually resuming, the tightness in spot cargo is expected to ease to some extent in the latter half of the month after nickel pig iron concentrates arrive at the port.

[7.16 Morning Meeting Minutes] US June CPI rose 3.5% YoY, compared to the expected 3.8% increase and the previous 4.2% rise. US June CPI fell 0.4% MoM, versus the expected 0.1% decline and the previous 0.5% increase. After the release of US June CPI data, traders pushed back their expectations for US Fed interest rate hikes to October. The most-traded SHFE nickel 2609 contract drifted lower in morning trading, closing down 0.43% at 128,870 yuan/mt at the end of the morning session. US inflation cooled significantly in June, with the unadjusted core CPI rising 2.6% YoY, below the expected 2.8% and the previous 2.9%. The cooling inflation further pushed back market expectations for US Fed rate hikes, and the US dollar extended its decline. In the short term, nickel prices may see a rebound, with the most-traded SHFE nickel contract price range between 127,000-133,000 yuan/mt.