Nickel Prices Bottomed out on Active Trading

SHANGHAI, May 22 (SMM) - The market paid close attention to the pending US Fed rate increases and the possible global economic recession as the Fed rate hike in the past few months failed to quell the core inflation. On the evening of May 18, many US Fed officials released hawkish remarks, thus the market was betting on 40% odds of rate hike in June. The US Treasury yields rose as a result, and so did the US dollar index. The nickel futures prices, however, rallied from lows on May 19 regardless of the macro pressure, and the spot premiums dropped slightly last week on expanding market supply. The market is bearish on the NORNICKEL nickel premiums as imported nickel may arrive at Chinese ports intensively in early June. NPI plants held their quotes firm amid low in-plant inventory, even though nickel futures prices crashed, but traders who carried some spot stocks slightly cut their quotations. SMM survey showed that some NPI traders became active in picking up and shipping goods, driving up the market supply to some extent. On the demand side, the stainless steel mills were less willing to restock NPI, and some mills planned to cut production on poor stainless steel consumption. According to SMM research, while the spot stainless steel market has been sluggish recently, social inventories did not show obvious accumulation as stainless steel mills reduced their shipments to the market. In general, nickel prices stood low amid economic recession fears.