Nickel Sulphate Prices Expected to Remain Stable, Sentiment in High-Grade NPI Market Remains Weak [SMM Nickel Morning Briefing]

12.27Nickel Morning Meeting Summary

Nickel Sulphate:

On December 26, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 26,377 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 26,000-26,920 yuan/mt, and the average price remained unchanged from the previous day.

Demand side, this week marks the traditional peak season for nickel salt procurement, with some inquiries and transactions observed in the market. However, overall activity in the nickel salt market remained subdued. Supply side, salt plants continued to stand firm on quotes. Overall, with weak demand from both buyers and sellers, nickel sulphate prices are expected to remain stable.

NPI:

On December 26, the SMM 8-12% high-grade NPI average price was 940 yuan/mtu (ex-factory, tax included), unchanged from the previous working day. Supply side, domestically, high-grade NPI prices fluctuated downward, with the strong US dollar driving up smelters' mining costs. Amid widening losses at traditional domestic smelters, production motivation weakened, and output remained at low levels. In Indonesia, new RKAB quotas began to be released, and Indonesian smelters maintained sufficient raw material stocking. Coupled with the release of new capacity and the conversion of high-grade nickel matte to NPI, Indonesian production continued to grow. Demand side, stainless steel social inventory and in-plant inventory destocking progressed slowly. Leading stainless steel mills showed weak purchase willingness for high-grade NPI, and some mills had already secured long-term contracts. In the short term, market sentiment remained subdued, and high-grade NPI may continue to pull back. However, downside room is limited due to cost support.

Stainless Steel:

On December 26, stainless steel futures prices fluctuated slightly downward, while spot prices remained stable at low levels. Influenced by the positive sentiment from steel mills' New Year production targets and raw material prices, steel mills slightly increased production, leading to a slight inventory buildup in the 400-series spot market. However, overall social inventory continued to destock, with significant destocking observed in the 300-series. In the morning, 304 cold-rolled stainless steel in Wuxi was quoted at 12,950-13,200 yuan/mt, and 304 HRC in Wuxi was quoted at 12,400-12,500 yuan/mt. 316L cold-rolled stainless steel in Wuxi was quoted at 23,600-23,800 yuan/mt. 201J1 cold-rolled stainless steel in Wuxi was quoted at 7,400-7,800 yuan/mt. 430 cold-rolled stainless steel in Wuxi was quoted at 7,150-7,450 yuan/mt. At 10:30 a.m., the SHFE SS2502 contract price was 13,025 yuan/mt, and Wuxi stainless steel spot premiums were 95-345 yuan/mt. (Spot cut edge = uncut edge + 170 yuan/mt).