SMM Nickel Market Morning Comment (Dec 11)

Spot premiums/discounts: The mainstream premium for Jinchuan #1 nickel was 3,000-3,200 yuan/mt, with an average of 3,100 yuan/mt, unchanged from the previous trading day. The premium for Norilsk nickel was -250-0 yuan/mt, with an average premium of -125 yuan/mt, also unchanged from the previous trading day.

Futures market: On December 10, the tug-of-war between longs and shorts was evident in the morning, with the futures market experiencing wide fluctuations. The midday closing price fell by 330 yuan/mt to 126,800 yuan/mt, a decrease of 0.26%. The SMM #1 refined nickel price dropped by 300 yuan/mt to 128,528 yuan/mt.

Spot market: Following the favourable macro front that boosted nickel prices in the previous day, nickel prices fluctuated in the morning, showing overall weakness. Influenced by the national economic stimulus policies, downstream purchasing sentiment improved over the past two days, with a slight increase in market transactions. Spot premiums/discounts have remained relatively stable at high levels over the past two days. However, due to poor fundamentals, nickel prices faced significant upward resistance.

Price spread with nickel sulphate: The price of nickel briquette was 126,300-127,000 yuan/mt, down 300 yuan/mt from the previous day. The price spread between refined nickel and nickel sulphate was 6,609 yuan/mt.