镍与不锈钢日评：偏弱运行-2025-04-07

1. Report Industry Investment Rating No industry investment rating information is provided in the report. 2. Core View of the Report - The nickel market shows a situation where the pattern of refined nickel surplus remains unchanged, and the frequent policy adjustments of the Indonesian government and heavy macro - negative factors are expected to suppress nickel prices, leading to a weak operation of nickel prices [1]. - The stainless - steel market has a relatively loose supply, slow demand recovery, limited support from raw material prices, and heavy pressure on the non - ferrous sector under macro - negative factors, so the stainless - steel price is expected to show a weak trend [1]. 3. Summary by Relevant Content Nickel Market Price and Volume Information - On April 3, 2025, the closing prices of Shanghai nickel futures' near - month, continuous - one, continuous - two, and continuous - three contracts decreased compared with the previous day, with decreases of 1,960 yuan/ton, 2,130 yuan/ton, 2,140 yuan/ton, and 2,070 yuan/ton respectively. The trading volume of Shanghai nickel futures was 184,999 lots, an increase of 2,647 lots compared with the previous day, and the open interest of the active contract was 89,599 lots, a decrease of 1 lot [1]. - The closing prices of LME 3 - month nickel and LME 15 - month nickel also decreased, with decreases of 160 US dollars/ton and 227.39 US dollars/ton respectively. The trading volume of LME 3 - month nickel was 4,210 lots, a decrease of 1,463 lots compared with the previous day [1]. Supply and Demand - Supply side: Nickel ore prices remained flat, the arrival volume of nickel ore changed little, and port inventories were stable. Some main production areas in Indonesia adjusted production, with a decrease in scheduled production and a downward expectation of metal volume. Domestic smelters continued to suffer losses, and production slightly recovered after seasonal maintenance [1]. - Demand side: The scheduled production of ternary materials decreased; the scheduled production of stainless - steel plants was stable and improving; the demand for alloys and electroplating was stable [1]. Inventory - The inventory of the Shanghai Futures Exchange decreased, the LME inventory increased, the social inventory decreased, and the bonded - area inventory remained stable. As of April 2, the LME nickel inventory was 199,000 tons, unchanged from the previous day. The Shanghai Futures Exchange nickel futures warehouse receipts decreased by 311 tons compared with the previous day [1]. Stainless - Steel Market Price and Volume Information - On April 3, 2025, the closing prices of Shanghai stainless - steel futures' near - month, continuous - one, continuous - two, and continuous - three contracts decreased compared with the previous day. The trading volume of Shanghai stainless - steel futures was 185,423 lots, an increase of 51,383 lots compared with the previous day, and the open interest of the active contract was 98,312 lots, a decrease of 12,271 lots [1]. Supply and Demand - Supply side: The scheduled production of stainless - steel decreased slightly [1]. - Demand side: Terminal demand was gradually recovering [1]. Inventory - The inventory of the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased. The social inventory of 300 - series stainless - steel last week was 705,800 tons, a decrease of 6,300 tons [1]. Cost - The price of high - nickel pig iron increased, and the price of high - carbon ferrochrome remained flat [1].