Summary of SMM Nickel Morning Meeting on July 27, 2023

SHFE 2308 nickel contract opened at 171,470 yuan/mt overnight, and closed at 172,990 yuan/mt, up 2,060 yuan/mt. Trading volume fell by 19,146 lots, and open interest decreased by 14,143 lots.

From a macro point of view, due to the intensifying conflict between Russia and Ukraine, domestic stimulus policies, and the rising Chinese yuan, nickel prices went up. In terms of fundamentals, according to SMM research, spot nickel prices were too high, even after spot premiums were lowered. The downstream trade sentiment is low and some downstream plants still have nickel plate inventory, so the spot market turnover was weak yesterday. To sum up, the current market is intertwined with positive and negative factors. It is expected that the subsequent nickel price may show a volatile trend.