SHANGHAI, Mar 7 (SMM) - On the supply side, the nickel prices remained low yesterday.
Upstream positions basically held SHFE 2304 nickel, which curbed the premiums from a further drop, hence the spot prices bounced back. NPI imports from Indonesia surged, while the stainless steel transactions remained poor. Bearish sentiment currently fills the market.
On the demand side, according to SMM research, the spot transactions in the past few trading days were slack.
Tsingshan Group disclosed a new bid price, which was about 200 yuan/mt lower than the previous price, but the new orders were still unsatisfactory. Alloys companies were less willing to restock as the nickel prices have bottomed out recently.
To sum up, the pure nickel sector faces weak supply and demand. Nickel prices will move rangebound in the short term.
Source: SMM
