[SMM Nickel Sulphate Daily Review] March 11, Raw Material Uncertainty Persisted, and Nickel Salt Prices Remained Stable

On March 11, the average SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate price edged up slightly.

From the cost side, the situation in the Middle East continued to affect market sentiment. Nickel prices dipped slightly today, driving down the immediate production cost of nickel sulphate; from the supply side, there were expectations of tight MHP supply, and nickel salt smelters raised their offers somewhat on expectations of potential cost increases stemming from raw material uncertainty; from the demand side, some producers made purchases recently, but due to the slow pass-through of costs to downstream, they still mostly took a wait-and-see stance toward high-priced nickel salts. Today, the upstream nickel salt smelter 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 is available in the database).

Looking ahead, market buying and selling sentiment is expected to rebound in March, and attention should be paid to the support for nickel sulphate prices from the cost side, particularly from nickel prices and intermediate product supply.

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