[Ferro-Alloys.com]Nickel on MCX settled down -2.69% at 574.1 tracking weakness in LME nickel prices ceded 2.8 percent to $8,660. Meanwhile, China's home prices rose in February at their fastest clip in almost two years thanks to red-hot demand. Global demand for nickel is expected to rise to 1.965 million tonnes in 2016 from 1.905 million in 2015, the International Nickel Study Group predicts. Much of the demand will come from China, although it is uncertain whether it is driven by real consumption rather than a need to meet deliveries from investors who had taken out futures contracts on the Shanghai exchange. 

 

But a slight increase in demand is a drop in the ocean given stocks of the metal on the LME have quadrupled over the past three years. There are around 435,702 tonnes sitting in LME-registered warehouses although the true picture of availability is skewed by the fact that some is tied up in financing deals. Nickel ore inventories at six major Chinese ports grew over this past week. Nickel ore inventories at six major Chinese ports were 50,000 tonnes on a weekly basis. The rise at port inventories is due mainly to limited buying interest by domestic NPI producers. 

 

Last week, prices of low-grade nickel ore rose in China as low-grade NPI advanced. Nickel's free fall may have halted as output cuts move the chronically oversupplied market towards deficit, but prices are unlikely to recover sharply unless more loss-making mines close. Technically market is under fresh selling as market has witnessed gain in open interest by 12.66% to settled at 17737 while prices down -15.9 rupee, now Nickel is getting support at 564.8 and below same could see a test of 555.4 level, and resistance is now likely to be seen at 591.8, a move above could see prices testing 609.4.

 

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