SMM Morning Comment For Nickel Market On September 22

SHANGHAI, Sep 22 (SMM) – Overnight, the most-traded SHFE nickel contract opened at 162,270 yuan/mt, and closed at 157,480 yuan/mt, down 6,060 yuan/mt. Trading volume rose by 19,874 lots, and open interest increased by 3,751 lots. On the macro front, in the early hours of Thursday morning, the Federal Reserve Board announced that the target range for the federal funds rate would remain at 5.25% to 5.5%, consistent with the previous value and market consensus, and the Federal Reserve once again paused raising interest rates. At the same time, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell's speech that day stated that the Federal Reserve may be prepared to further raise interest rates under appropriate circumstances, sending nickel price down. From a fundamental point of view, due to the gradual end of pre-holiday, the transaction activity in the spot market declined yesterday. In summary, it is expected that nickel prices may continue to fluctuate downward in the future.