On October 31 evening, the most active SHFE nickel contract prices opened at 147300 yuan/mt and closed at 143580 yuan/mt, a decrease of 2890 yuan/mt from the closing price of the previous trading day. The trading volume increased by 64788 lots, and the open interest increased by 12735 lots. The decrease in trading volume shows that longs were more rational in closing positions. Therefore, the prices dropped moderately, and the probability of a sustained decline is high.
On the macro front, the current market expectations for an interest rate hike in November continue to cool down, and the U.S. dollar index has remained high recently. The market needs to pay attention to the Federal Reserve interest rate decision this Thursday. From a fundamental perspective, the trend of pure nickel inventory accumulation remains unchanged, downstream demand has not yet improved, and spot market transactions were still weak. In summary, it is expected that the nickel price may fluctuate rangebound in the near term.
