[SMM Nickel Sulphate Daily Review] February 4th: Weakness in Both Purchasing and Sales Sentiment, Nickel Salt Prices Remain Stable

On February 4, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 31,976 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 31,700-32,800 yuan/mt, and the average price was flat compared to yesterday.

Cost side, after the previous days' oversold decline, nickel prices rebounded slightly today, but the spot cost of nickel sulphate production still pulled back compared to last month; Supply side, some nickel salt producers were still holding prices firm due to expectations of rising raw material costs, while others had suspended quotations as the Chinese New Year approached, with a relatively weak willingness to sell; Demand side, some producers had already stocked up on raw materials for the Chinese New Year and adopted a wait-and-see stance towards the highly volatile nickel prices, showing weak acceptance of high-priced nickel salt. Today, the upstream nickel salt plants' 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 2.4 (historical data can be queried by logging into the database).

Looking ahead, if nickel prices decline further, the cost support for nickel sulphate prices may weaken.

On February 4, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 31,976 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 31,700-32,800 yuan/mt, and the average price was flat compared to yesterday.

Cost side, after the previous days' oversold decline, nickel prices rebounded slightly today, but the spot cost of nickel sulphate production still pulled back compared to last month; Supply side, some nickel salt producers were still holding prices firm due to expectations of rising raw material costs, while others had suspended quotations as the Chinese New Year approached, with a relatively weak willingness to sell; Demand side, some producers had already stocked up on raw materials for the Chinese New Year and adopted a wait-and-see stance towards the highly volatile nickel prices, showing weak acceptance of high-priced nickel salt. Today, the upstream nickel salt plants' 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 2.4 (historical data can be queried by logging into the database).

Looking ahead, if nickel prices decline further, the cost support for nickel sulphate prices may weaken.

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