Some precursor producers' procurement period arrives; nickel sulphate prices rise slightly this week
As of Friday this week, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 27,132 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate being 27,130-27,610 yuan/mt, and the average price slightly increasing WoW.
Demand side, some producers have restocking demands recently, and procurement sentiment has slightly recovered WoW. Currently, it is the month-end procurement period, and some precursor producers' acceptance of nickel salt prices has increased. Supply side, the overall inventory level of nickel salt smelters is low, with limited available finished products. Coupled with the cost pressure from high-priced raw materials, producers have a strong reluctance to budge on prices. Looking ahead, as it is the procurement period for precursor producers and the current supply of finished nickel sulphate is tight, nickel salt prices are expected to rise.
Nickel prices decline this week; production costs of nickel salts pull back
Cost side, the raw material market has been sluggish this week, with the MHP coefficient remaining stable. Regarding nickel prices, the market's focus this week has returned to the uncertainties surrounding US tariffs and the US Fed's interest rate cut, driving LME nickel prices to fluctuate downward. Overall, nickel prices have declined slightly this week, and the immediate production costs of nickel sulphate have pulled back. As of Friday this week, the profit margin using MHP was 0.0%, using crude slag was -1.7%, using nickel briquette was -1.3%, and using high-grade nickel matte was 4.0%.
