Nickel Prices to Remain Rangebound with some Downward Potential

SHANGHAI, Feb 9 (SMM) - On the supply side, the spot imports of pure nickel gained profits yesterday. SMM believes that imported nickel plates will flow into the market this week and next week. The quotations offered by some NPI factories and traders dropped somewhat. The nickel ore market witnessed some high-priced transactions, and the overall nickel ore prices grew slightly with the firm cost support. On the demand side, according to SMM research, the recent stainless steel cold-rolled transactions have weakened, while hot-rolled trading is acceptable. Tsingshan Group opened at a par price for three consecutive days, and orders of #316L stainless steel were better. Some alloy manufacturers completed the restocking amid the falling nickel prices in the past few days. To sum up, the supply tightness of pure nickel is expected to be eased, so nickel prices will remain rangebound with some downward potential.