Nickel prices edged higher to Rs 1,360.20 per kg on March 2 as participants increased their long position as seen by the open interest. The base metal pared earlier losses and traded in the positive territory after a gap down start.
Base metals saw a recovery after a sell-off witnessed in the previous session, amidst the weakening demand in top consumer China that weighed on the overall sentiment.
The commodity has been trading higher than 20,50,100 and 200 days' moving averages, but lower than 5-day moving averages on a daily chart. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 53.44 which indicates positive momentum in prices.
The US dollar traded higher at 91.12, or up 0.10 percent, on Tuesday against a basket of six currencies.
MCX METLDEX was up 140 points, or 0.95 percent, at 14,869 at 18:32. The index tracks real-time performance of key base metals.
Sunand Subramaniam, Senior Research Associate at Choice Broking said, “For the month ahead, we are expecting LME and MCX Nickel futures to witness uptrend with reports of higher demand from the battery sector in Europe. Easing worries in the European Union, China and the US is expected to strengthen the demand for Cobalt, Lithium and Nickel.”
“China’s annual session of parliament will chart a course for economic recovery and unveil a five-year plan to fend off stagnation, as strategic rivalry with the US spurs a shift of reliance on consumption and home-grown technology; this is also estimated to support global base metal prices in the longer duration," Subramaniam noted.
In the futures market, nickel for March delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 1,368 and a low of Rs 1,335 per kg on the MCX. So far in the current series, the base metal has touched a low of Rs 1,278.10 and a high of Rs 1,457.
Nickel delivery for March contract gained Rs 2.80, or 0.21 percent, to Rs 1,360.20 per kg at 18:40 hours with a business turnover of 2,163 lots. The same for April contract eased Rs 0.30, or 0.02 percent, to Rs 1,366 per kg with a turnover of 111 lots.
The value of the March and April’s contracts traded so far is Rs 1,289.68 crore and Rs 28.89 crore, respectively.
Geojit Financial Services said major buying may trigger only above the upside obstacle of Rs 1,378 region. If the above mentioned remained untouched we could anticipate a downside corrective move.
At 1314 (GMT), the base metal price was up 0.44 percent, quoting at $18,695 per tonne in London.
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