[SMM Nickel Midday Review] Nickel prices rose slightly on August 6, with the manufacturing PMI in Asia for July at 50.5%

SMM Nickel News on August 6:

Macro News:

(1) Trump: Will announce tariffs on drugs and chips in the coming week, with drug tariffs reaching up to 250%. Will significantly raise tariffs on India within the next 24 hours. If the EU does not fulfill its investment obligations to the US, a 35% tariff will be imposed.

(2) The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) released the global manufacturing PMI for July today. The global manufacturing PMI for July was 49.3%, down 0.2 percentage points MoM, indicating a weaker recovery in global manufacturing compared to the previous month, continuing to be in the doldrums. The Asian manufacturing PMI for July was 50.5%, down 0.2 percentage points MoM, remaining above 50% for three consecutive months. The Asian manufacturing sector as a whole maintained an expansionary trend, continuing to be the main driver supporting the global economic recovery.

Spot Market:

Today, the SMM #1 refined nickel price was 120,700-123,500 yuan/mt, with an average price of 123,200 yuan/mt, up 200 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The mainstream spot premiums quotation range for Jinchuan #1 refined nickel was 2,100-2,400 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 2,250 yuan/mt, unchanged from the previous trading day. The spot premiums and discounts quotation range for electrodeposited nickel from mainstream domestic brands was -100-300 yuan/mt.

Futures Market:

The most-traded SHFE nickel 2509 contract (2509) rose slightly to 121,000 yuan in the morning session before pulling back. As of the midday session, SHFE nickel was quoted at 120,870 yuan/mt, up 0.06%.

The US added only 73,000 new jobs in July (expected 104,000), and data for May-June was revised down significantly by a total of 258,000, with the unemployment rate rising. The data sparked market concerns about an economic slowdown, causing the US dollar index to fall and nickel prices to rebound slightly. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said that "two interest rate cuts this year are still appropriate," sending dovish signals that further weighed on the US dollar. In the short term, nickel prices will oscillate amid the tug-of-war between weak fundamentals and macro sentiment support, with a price range of 119,000-123,000 yuan/mt.