[NPI Daily Review] Bullish and Bearish Factors Pull Against Each Other, Market Transactions Centered Around Average Prices

SMM May 25 News,

   May 25 News, the SMM high-grade NPI market sentiment index was 2.56, down 0.02 MoM, the high-grade NPI upstream sentiment index was 3.12, flat MoM, and the high-grade NPI downstream sentiment index was 2, down 0.05 MoM. Today, the high-grade NPI market continued its pattern of stagnant high-level standoff with widening divergence. Overall price fluctuations were limited, and the tug-of-war between longs and shorts persisted. On the supply side, market policy uncertainty remained strong, and most traders maintained a firm stance to hold prices firm, with mainstream quotations concentrated in the range of 1,140-1,180 yuan/nickel unit. Some sources clearly held back from selling and refused to release at low prices, with periodically tight supply further supporting the floor of spot prices. On the demand side, the purchasing atmosphere was cautious. Downstream buyers generally considered upstream quotations too high, with weak willingness to purchase and only maintaining a wait-and-see sentiment with minimal volumes. There were no notable fixed-price transactions in the market, with most deals concluded at average prices, and overall trading activity was mediocre. At this stage, the expectations of holding prices firm at high levels and the weak downstream purchasing sentiment counterbalanced each other. The market lacked clear directional drivers, and NPI was highly likely to continue moving sideways in a stagnant consolidation pattern in the short term.