Nickel Salt Prices Rose This Week, With Stronger Cost Support
As of this Friday, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price stood at 26,916 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 27,040-27,760 yuan/mt. The average price increased compared to yesterday and WoW. Supply side, the MHP coefficient continued to rise, coupled with stronger LME nickel prices, exacerbating losses for nickel salt smelters and intensifying their sentiment to stand firm on quotes. Some nickel salt smelters, affected by the rising MHP coefficient and losses, may consider production cuts. Demand side, fluctuations in cobalt prices have intensified losses for precursor plants, slowing their nickel salt procurement pace. This week, sentiment for nickel salt procurement was sluggish, and inquiry activity weakened. Overall, given the sentiment to stand firm on quotes due to losses at nickel salt smelters and the unfinished essential stockpiling of nickel salt by precursor plants, there remains some procurement demand. Nickel sulphate prices are expected to continue rising next week.
Raw Material Costs Rose This Week, Worsening Nickel Sulphate Losses
Cost side, during the week, production cuts at high-grade nickel matte projects in Indonesia drove a significant increase in MHP demand. MHP supply tightened, prompting sellers to raise MHP quotation coefficients. Additionally, the pricing discount for cobalt in MHP also increased. Meanwhile, strong gains in LME nickel this week pushed up raw material costs for nickel sulphate, further exacerbating the degree of losses in spot production costs for nickel sulphate. As of this Friday, the profit margin for producing nickel salt using MHP was -4.0%, using nickel residue was -3.9%, and using nickel briquette was -8.5%. Producing nickel salt with high-grade nickel matte remained profitable, with a profit margin of 0.7%.
