Nickel Salt Prices Remain Flat, High-Grade NPI Prices Operate Stable With a Weak Trend [SMM Nickel Morning Briefing]

1.14Nickel Morning Meeting Summary

Nickel Sulphate:

On January 13, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 26,423 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 26,050-26,950 yuan/mt, and the average price remained flat WoW.

Cost side, LME nickel prices slightly rebounded today to $15,670/mt (Ni contained), strengthening spot cost support. Currently, the spot profit for producing nickel sulphate using MHP is in a loss state, while the profit margin for producing nickel sulphate using high-grade nickel matte remains. Demand side, most precursor plants have basically completed January nickel salt stocking, with only a small portion still having restocking demand. Market inquiry activity was weak today. Supply side, nickel salt plants currently maintain low levels of finished product inventories, leading to tight supply. Overall, under the tight supply situation, prices still have room for an upward trend.

NPI:

On January 13, SMM 8-12% high-grade NPI average price was 933.5 yuan/mtu (ex-factory, tax included), unchanged from the previous working day. Supply side, domestically, high-grade NPI prices fluctuated downward, with weak production momentum among domestic smelters, and production is expected to decline. In Indonesia, with the release of some new capacity and additional output from the conversion of some high-grade nickel matte, high-grade NPI production is expected to slightly increase. Demand side, current stainless steel prices stabilized and rebounded, but stocking demand for raw materials by stainless steel mills has been front-loaded, with most enterprises showing weak short-term procurement demand. Additionally, top-tier enterprises have a high proportion of long-term contracts, and spot order volumes for external purchases are limited. Meanwhile, Indonesian nickel ore operations remain stable, and under cost support, high-grade NPI prices are expected to remain stable with a weak trend in the short term.

Stainless Steel:

On January 13, stainless steel electronic futures opened higher in the morning, coupled with production control by steel mills, spot prices also rose. Prices for 201 and 304 stainless steel increased by 50-100 yuan/mt. Although shipments of some steel grades continued to decline, market expectations improved, and sentiment turned positive. Cold-rolled stainless steel in Wuxi was quoted at 12,800-13,100 yuan/mt, 304 HRC in Wuxi was quoted at 12,300-12,500 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 7,450-7,750 yuan/mt, and 430 cold-rolled stainless steel in Wuxi was quoted at 7,150-7,450 yuan/mt. At 10:30, the SHFE SS2503 contract price was 12,240 yuan/mt, with Wuxi stainless steel spot premiums at -270-30 yuan/mt (spot trimmed edge = mill edge + 170 yuan/mt).