Potential Economic Recession Weighed on Nickel Prices

SHANGHAI, May 15 (SMM) - On the evening of May 10, the seasonally adjusted US CPI annual rate for April recorded 4.9%, lower than the forecast and previous readings of 5%. The market thus generally expected the monetary policy to be hawkish to quell the stubborn inflation. On May 11, the US Department of Labor announced that the initial jobless claims for the previous week were 264,000, higher than the expected 245,000 and the previous figure. Under the long-term rate hike cycle, although inflation has cooled down, its negative impact on the job market remained large, further suppressing consumption and increasing the risk of an economic recession as well as weighing on the nonferrous metals prices. Nickel prices moved with some downward potential last week amid poor downstream demand and trades on the economic recession. Under this background, the warrants rose, and the spot premiums slumped. The NPI supply gradually grew with more Indonesia NPI arriving at Chinese ports, but the spot holders who carried low stocks were not in a hurry to sell their goods. On the demand side, the stainless steel futures prices plunged following the falling SHFE nickel prices, and the spot prices then dropped slightly. All in all, the nickel prices lost momentum from multiple perspectives.