SMM Morning Comment For Nickel Market On January 3

SHANGHAI, January 3 (SMM) –
Overnight, the most-traded SHFE nickel contract opened at 125640 yuan/mt, and closed at 127510 yuan/mt, up 2300 yuan/mt. Trading volume fell by 139,000 lots, and open interest decreased by 11518 lots. From a macro perspective, the conflict between the US military and the Houthi armed forces broke out on December 31, 2023, and the Red Sea crisis escalated again, which may further boost market risk aversion. From a fundamentals point of view, the LME nickel inventory continued the trend of accumulating, with the increase coming from warehouses in Asia. In contrast, SHFE nickel warrants fell slightly by 41 mt. Nickel price is expected to move rangebound.