Offers of nickel sulphate follow nickel prices higher 

Total import volume of NPI in March 2021 was 334,000 mt. Imports from Indonesia stood at 278,000 mt, an increase of 18.38% month-on-month but a year-on-year decrease of 1.9%. NPI and stainless steel capacity in Indonesia has commissioned simultaneously, and the growth in exports of NPI to China should be limited in the short term;

Nickel prices fluctuated at a low levels last week. The market quotations of battery-grade nickel sulphate was slightly lowered to 35,000-36,000 yuan/mt. The cost of dissolving nickel beans into nickel sulphate was more effective at 28,000-30,000 yuan/mt. However, the dissolution capacity was limited, and the supply of nickel sulphate was tight, which had slowed down the fall in spot prices. The actual transaction prices last week were between 34,500-35,000 yuan/mt. The transactions were scarce as the buyers and sellers were standing sideline.

China’s copper cathode output increased month on month in October, as there was basically no maintenance at smelters and as large-scale smelters maintained high production in Q4. Although domestic copper scrap was in short supply in October, smelters kept relatively ample stocks of blister copper. Furthermore, as the new secondary copper policy took effect from November 1, concerns over copper scrap supply were eased.

While prices of the material will continue to see some upsides potential in April, the pessimistic outlook for downstream demand at home and abroad under the cloud of the coronavirus will depress upward momentum of battery-grade nickel sulphate prices in the month ahead.

Prices of battery-grade nickel sulphate, a raw material used to produce electric vehicle batteries, halted their decline that lasted for much of March, and edged higher as of March 30, as concerns about feedstock supply disruption intensified after Papua New Guinea banned vessels at ports to stop the spread of the COVID-19.

This is a roundup of China's base metals output in January 2020

A roundup of China's base metals output in September 2019, from an SMM survey of major producers

NPI output rose 2.57% from Jun to 50,700 mt in Ni content

China produced some 15,800 mt of nickel in Dec, 4.45% higher than Dec 2017

Three local mills were required to cut emissions by at least 30% from Nov 1 to Feb 28, 2019