[ SMM Nickel Sulphate Daily Review ] February 27th Cost Disturbances Continue to Impact the Market, Nickel Salt Average Price Slightly Declines

On February 27, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 31,795 yuan/mt, and the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate was 31,570-32,800 yuan/mt, with the average price slightly down from yesterday.

Cost side, influenced by the stronger US dollar trend and US-Iran negotiations on the macro front, nickel prices pulled back yesterday, leading to a decline in the immediate production cost of nickel sulphate; Supply side, post-holiday, nickel salt smelters' willingness to sell sentiment improved, and quotations increased due to potential raw material cost rise expectations; Demand side, some producers started purchasing raw materials for March, while others had not fully consumed pre-holiday raw material inventory, showing weak acceptance of high-priced nickel salt. Today, the upstream nickel salt smelters' Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor was 1.8, the downstream precursor plants' Purchasing Sentiment Factor was 2.6, and the integrated enterprises' Sentiment Factor was 2.3 (historical data can be queried by logging into the database).

Looking ahead, post-holiday market purchasing and sales sentiment rebounded slightly, while attention should also be paid to nickel prices and intermediate product supply's support for nickel sulphate prices from the cost side.

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