The losses of nickel salt plants deepened last week

Nickel sulphate prices climbed amid tight supply

The SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index reached 29,771 yuan/mt on March 15, up 561 yuan/mt compared to March 7. Quotes of batterygrade nickel sulphate were 29,600-30,100 yuan/mt, up 600 yuan/mt from March 7. Supply recovery for hydrometallurgical recycling plants has been slow slower supply increase. Concurrently, better vehicle sales in March and active restocking in the precursor sector have exacerbated the supplydemand imbalance, maintaining tight supplies. On cost, discount coefficient of MHP remained high, while nickel prices also stayed elevated, influenced by favorable macroeconomic trends and supply chain dynamics. These factors are causing some salt producers to suffer losses. The ongoing supplydemand tension and robust cost indicate a bullish nickel sulphate market outlook in the near term, but the upside room may be limited. The price range is projected at 29,800-30,300 yuan/mt this week.

The losses of nickel salt plants deepened last week

There's a shortage of MHP supply, with limited circulation. Due to less availability of high-grade nickel matte, upstream efforts prioritize retaining loyal customers and keeping spot orders minimal. High-grade nickel matte prices remained robust, with a discount coefficient of 85% to LME nickel.
With good overall economic outlook and high nickel sulphate prices, nickel prices are rising, causing raw material costs to go up. The nickel sulphate prices aren’t rising as fast as nickel prices, which means the profit stayed negative last week. As of last Wednesday, the profit margins for high-grade nickel matte based production lines were at -1.4%, that of MHP-based production lines were at -3.0%, that of nickel briquettes and nickel powder based
production lines were at -5.9%.

Please do not hesitate to contact Jean at jeantang@smm.cn or 86-19946295759 if you have any question or inquiry.