Overnight, LME copper opened at $9,500.5/mt. After fluctuating higher in early trading, it pulled back and touched a low of $9,495/mt.

[5.20 Morning Meeting Minutes] Affected by destocking at downstream material plants this month, the production schedule of some precursors has declined, leading to a weaker demand for nickel salt purchases. Supply side, some nickel salt smelters reduced their quotation coefficients this week due to weak demand for precursors. Looking ahead, it is expected that nickel salt prices will remain stable this week, given the weak supply and demand in the market as well as the cost support for nickel salt.

[SMM Daily Review: Cost Support Below Remains Robust, High-Grade NPI Prices Stabilize and Recover] On May 19, the average price of SMM 8-12% high-grade NPI was 944 yuan/mtu (ex-factory, tax included), up 2.5 yuan/mtu from the previous working day...

The following table shows the ferrous and nonferrous metals movement on the SHFE and DCE on 19 May, 2025

As of now, the MHP coefficient (relative to the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index) ranges from 84% to 85%, and the FOB price of Indonesian MHP is US$12,782/mt (Ni contained).

On May 19, the SMM index price for battery-grade nickel sulphate was 27,757 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate being 27,760-28,230 yuan/mt, and the average price remained stable compared to yesterday.

[Morning Meeting Minutes on May 19] Today, the SMM 1# refined nickel price was 124,900-127,350 yuan/mt, with an average price of 126,125 yuan/mt, a decrease of 200 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. The mainstream spot premiums quotation range for Jinchuan No.1 nickel was 2,000-2,200 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 2,100 yuan/mt, unchanged from the previous trading day. The premiums and discounts quotation range for Russian nickel was 0-300 yuan/mt, with an average premium of 150 yuan/mt, unchanged from the previous trading day.

On May 8, the local authorities in Guangzhou issued the "Application Guidelines for the 2025 Guangzhou Waste Power Battery Second-life Application and Recycling Projects" and commenced the project application process. The relevant requirements are as follows: The project will start accepting applications on May 26, with the deadline set for May 30.