Price trend
According to the monitoring of nickel prices by SunSirs, nickel prices rebounded slightly this week (9.10-9.18). On September 11th, nickel prices dropped to 121,716 RMB/ton, a new low since May 2021. As of September 18th, spot nickel prices were quoted at 124,675 RMB/ton, with a weekly increase of 2,21% and a year-on-year decrease of 24.25%.
Analysis review
Macroscopic aspect: On Wednesday, the Russian President stated that Moscow should consider restricting nickel exports. If Russia implements the proposed ban, global nickel supply may shift from the current global oversupply of 100,000 tons to a shortage. The news pushed nickel prices up significantly, reversing the recent unfavorable trend. Russia is a major supplier of nickel to China and Europe. Nickel price is temporarily the weakest metal in LME trend.
Supply side: There was an oversupply in both domestic and international markets, and inventory continued to increase. As of September 13th, Shanghai nickel inventory was 24,014 tons, an increase of 1,571 tons from last week; On September 18th, LME nickel inventory was 123,726 tons, an increase of 2,070 tons from September 10th.
In terms of demand: The market will still be in the destocking stage in the near future, and the demand for spot goods has not increased as expected. The market activity still needs to be improved. Stainless steel prices are running weakly at a low level. On September 18th, the benchmark price of stainless steel plates in SunSirs was 12,435.71 RMB/ton, a decrease of 2.52% from the beginning of the month. The demand for alloys in military and shipping industries was still acceptable, and customers purchased mainly on demand.
Market outlook
Global inventory was under pressure, nickel prices hit a three-year low, demand support was insufficient, and the rebound from bottoming out was limited. It is expected that nickel prices will mainly consolidate in the short term.
If you have any enquiries or purchasing needs, please feel free to contact SunSirs with support@sunsirs.com.