Last week, nickel prices remained in a low-level range. In the first half of the week, US June non-farm payroll data came in significantly below expectations, cooling market expectations of Federal Reserve rate hikes and weighing on the US dollar, which lifted nickel prices briefly. However, after the opening of Indonesia's RKAB supplementary quota application window, the market began pricing in expectations of looser supply ahead of time, and with cost support from intermediates continuing to weaken, the upside for nickel prices was limited. In the latter half of the week, geopolitical tensions escalated again, raising risk aversion and weighing on risk appetite, pushing nickel prices lower once more.On the nickel ore front, Philippine medium-to-high grade ore prices continued their downward trend. CIF offers for 1.3% grade stood at US $49/wmt, down about US $1/wmt during the week. Indonesian domestic ore prices fell by about US $5/wmt in July.