Last week, macro factors continued to pressure nickel prices. The Federal Reserve's June FOMC interest rate meeting kept interest rates unchanged, but the dot plot sent a strong hawkish signal, with nearly half of the officials expecting at least one rate hike within the year. The median interest rate forecast for the end of 2026 was raised sharply from 3.4% to 3.8%. For nickel intermediates, the two factors that had previously supported the bottom of nickel costs were both weakening marginally. The expected reopening of the Strait of Hormuz led to a turning point in sulfur prices, and the cost support for hydrometallurgical processes was gradually easing. In addition, premiums for low-grade domestic ore in Indonesia had come under notable pressure, and the overall cost support from the nickel ore side had weakened.The high inventory of refined nickel was the core suppressive factor for nickel prices.