SMM Nickel News on July 21:
Macro News:
(1) Today, the People's Bank of China authorized the National Interbank Funding Center to announce the Loan Prime Rate (LPR) for July 21, 2025: the 1-year LPR is 3.0%, and the LPR for loans over 5 years is 3.5%. The LPR quotes for both tenors remained unchanged MoM. Industry insiders predict that there will be a policy observation period in the short term, and the LPR quotes will continue to remain stable. Looking ahead, during the process of vigorously boosting domestic demand and "making greater efforts to promote the stabilization of the real estate market," there is still room for policy interest rates and LPR quotes to be lowered.
(2) US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick stated on Sunday that he is confident the US can reach a trade agreement with the EU, but August 1 is a hard deadline for tariffs to take effect. Lutnick said he had just finished a phone call with EU trade negotiators, and there is still "significant room for negotiation" between the two sides.
Spot Market:
Today, the SMM 1# refined nickel price is 121,600-124,100 yuan/mt, with an average price of 122,850 yuan/mt, up 1,350 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The mainstream spot premiums quotation range for Jinchuan #1 refined nickel is 1,900-2,100 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 2,000 yuan/mt, unchanged from the previous trading day. The spot premiums and discounts quotation range for electrodeposited nickel from mainstream domestic brands is -100-300 yuan/mt.
Futures Market:
The most-traded SHFE nickel 2508 contract rebounded strongly during the night session and continued its upward trend during the daytime session, reaching a high of 125,000 yuan/mt. As of the midday session, SHFE nickel was quoted at 122,560 yuan/mt, up 1.92%.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced that it will soon launch a growth stabilization work plan for ten key industries, including steel and non-ferrous metals, clarifying the orientation of "adjusting the structure and eliminating backward capacity." This policy continues to ferment, driving the market's optimistic expectations for supply-side reforms in industrial metals and boosting risk appetite for non-ferrous metals such as nickel. Driven by favorable macro sentiment, SHFE nickel may break through the resistance level of 123,000 yuan/mt in the short term.
