This week, the nickel salt market saw a slight rebound, with cost support widening.

As of Thursday, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price stood at 26,594 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate between 26,410 and 27,070 yuan/mt. The average price increased WoW.

In terms of supply, at the beginning of the week, the decline in LME nickel prices reduced costs for nickel salt smelters, leading to some price concessions. However, by the end of the week, with the rebound in LME nickel prices and the impact of DRC policies, the cobalt coefficient in MHP rose. This resulted in increased cost pressure for nickel salt smelters, fostering a strong sentiment to stand firm on quotes, and their quotations subsequently rebounded.

Demand side, although the production schedule of ternary cathode precursor enterprises in March fell short of expectations, it showed improvement compared to February. This week marked a procurement period for nickel salts, with active market inquiries and transactions. Precursor manufacturers have yet to complete their March inventory stockpiling, thus maintaining external purchase demand.

Overall, due to rising costs and the sentiment to stand firm on quotes driven by losses at nickel salt smelters, nickel sulphate prices are expected to have further upward potential next week.

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