[SMM Analysis] Spot cargo is tight but downstream still has purchasing demand; nickel sulphate prices continue to rise this week

Tight spot supply but downstream purchasing demand remains. This week, nickel sulphate prices continued to rise.

As of Thursday this week, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 27,316 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate being 27,270-27,790 yuan/mt, and the average price further increased WoW.

Demand side, as the "September-October peak season" approaches, some precursor producers still have restocking demand. In recent days, they have been actively inquiring about prices, showing an increased acceptance of nickel salt prices. Supply side, the overall inventory levels of nickel salt smelters are low, with fewer spot order quotations in the market. Coupled with the cost pressure from high-priced raw materials, producers continue to refuse to budge on prices. Looking ahead, some precursor producers still have raw material stocking demand. Given the current tight spot supply of nickel sulphate, it is expected that nickel salt prices will continue to rise.