SHANGHAI, Jun 6 (SMM) - Last week, spot premiums of pure nickel maintained a downward trend, and the overall trading volume improved significantly compared with the previous week. Due to the cost difference of nickel sulphate, the prices of nickel salt produced by low-priced raw materials lowered the market expectation. The discounts of nickel sulphate over the refined nickel expanded, which has little impact on the nickel salt prices. The consumption of NPI terminals continued to be weak, and the stainless steel inventory could not be consumed. The falling cost suppressed the stainless steel prices, and steel mills got a narrow profit margin. In terms of the downstream demand, some steel mills may have mid-year maintenance in June, so the output may not increase much compared with May. In terms of alloy plants, thanks to the falling pure nickel prices and the improvement in the pandemic in China, the operating rates of downstream manufacturers increased, boosting the purchase of raw materials. To sum up, the substantial influence of the increase in primary nickel supply and the improvement in demand is yet absent. The low inventory still strongly supports the nickel prices. SHFE nickel prices will move between 206,000-220,600 yuan/mt this week. At present, the LME nickel prices have not yet returned to the fundamentals, and the prices may fluctuate wildly. When the prices return to normal, SMM will resume the price forecast of LME nickel.

The above representation and data is based on market information SMM believes to be reliable at the time of acquiring as well as the comprehensive assessment by SMM research team, and any and all information provided in this article is for reference only. This article does not constitute a direct recommendation for investment or any decisions in any form and clients shall act on their own discreet and any decisions made by clients are not within the responsibility of SMM.

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