Nickel futures steady at Rs 1,111.60 per kg in evening trade

Nickel prices traded steady at Rs 1,111.60 per kg on October 13 as participants increased their short positions. The base metal pared early losses and traded steady in the evening session tracking positive China economic data.

The commodity is seeing support from lower stocks at accredited warehouses of the Shanghai Futures Exchange and upbeat demand from China, which may cap the downside.

MCX iCOMDEX Base Metal Index dropped 51.20 points, or 0.43 percent, at 11,986.30 at 17:19 hours.

In the futures market, nickel for October delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 1,114.80 and a low of Rs 1,095.10 per kg on the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX). So far in the current series, the base metal has touched a low of Rs 1,035.10 and a high of Rs 1,165.30.

Nickel futures for October delivery fell Rs 0.9, or 0.08 percent, to Rs 1,111.40 per kg at 17:06 hours on a business turnover of 2,147 lots. The same for November delivery slipped marginally Rs 0.10, or 0.01 percent, to Rs 1,120.10 per kg on a turnover of 277 lots.

The value of the October and November’s contracts traded so far is Rs 1,005.37 crore and Rs 8.38 crore, respectively.

"Nickel is likely to trade with a positive bias on October 13 with support at Rs 1,004-1095, whereas resistance is seen at Rs 1,128-1,140 levels," according to Motilal Oswal.

At 11:39 (GMT), the base metal price rose 0.21 percent at $15,227.50 per tonne in London.