[SMM Nickel Sulphate Daily Review] March 10: Raw Material Uncertainty Continued, Nickel Salt Prices Rose Slightly

On March 10, the SMM average price of battery-grade nickel sulphate rose from the previous day.

Cost side, news of a landslide at an Indonesian industrial park continued to ferment, and nickel prices extended their rebound today, driving a rebound in the spot production cost of nickel sulphate; supply side, MHP supply has been tight recently, and nickel salt smelters’ quotations were lifted somewhat on expectations of potential cost increases stemming from raw material uncertainty; demand side, some producers have made purchases recently, but as cost pass-through to downstream has been slow, they remained mainly on the sidelines regarding high-priced nickel salts. Today, the upstream nickel salt smelters’ Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor was 1.8, the downstream precursor plants’ purchasing sentiment factor was 2.7, and the integrated enterprises’ sentiment factor was 2.3 (historical data can be queried by logging into the database).

Looking ahead, market buying and selling sentiment rebounded in March, and attention should be paid to the extent to which nickel prices and intermediate product supply provide support, from the cost side, for nickel sulphate prices.

[For more content, please subscribe to SMM Nickel Research Group products “China Nickel-Chrome Stainless Steel Industry Chain Regular Report” and “China Nickel-Chrome Stainless Steel Industry Chain High-End Report” to obtain the latest data analysis and market interpretation related to nickel ore, NPI (China + Indonesia), refined nickel, nickel sulphate, chrome ore, ferrochrome, and stainless steel (China + Indonesia)!]