On February 13, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 31,618 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 31,400-32,500 yuan/mt. The average price was flat from yesterday.
Cost side, stronger risk-off sentiment in the commodity market due to better-than-expected US non-farm payrolls data the day before and the impact of the Chinese New Year led to a noticeable pullback in nickel prices today, driving down the immediate production cost of nickel sulphate. Supply side, some producers have suspended quotations as they approach shutdowns for the Chinese New Year holiday, with relatively weak shipment sentiment upstream. Demand side, some producers have already stocked up on raw materials for the holiday and showed weak acceptance of high-priced nickel salt. Today, the willingness to sell sentiment factor for upstream nickel salt smelters was 1.7, the purchasing sentiment factor for downstream precursor plants was 2.3, and the sentiment factor for integrated enterprises was 2.3 (historical data can be queried by logging into the database).
Looking ahead, post-holiday market trading sentiment is expected to rebound, while attention should also be paid to the impact of nickel price trends on nickel sulphate production costs.
Finally, we wish everyone an early Happy New Year and great fortune in the Year of the Horse!
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