Some Producers Still Had Raw Material Procurement Demand, Nickel Salt Prices Rose This Week
As of Friday, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price stood at 27,810 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate between 27,860 and 28,060 yuan/mt, and the average price rose further WoW.
Demand side, the monthly procurement period had passed, and transactions decreased mid-month, but some producers still had raw material demand recently, with increased acceptance of nickel salt prices; supply side, nickel salt smelters had limited spot supply, coupled with high-cost raw material pressure, supporting continued upward nickel salt quotations. Looking ahead, some downstream enterprises still have procurement demand, and with current tight spot nickel sulphate supply, nickel salt prices are expected to have further room to rise.
Inventory side, this week, the upstream nickel salt smelter inventory index rose from 4.4 days to 4.5 days, while the downstream precursor plant inventory index remained at 9.5 days, with overall low inventory levels for both buyers and sellers, and the integrated enterprise inventory index dropped to 7 days; in terms of market strength, the upstream nickel salt smelter willingness to sell sentiment factor remained at 1.5 this week, while the downstream precursor plant procurement sentiment factor dropped from 3.0 to 2.9, as some producers' procurement sentiment pulled back after completing stockpiling at the end of last month, and the integrated enterprise sentiment factor rose from 2.5 to 2.8. (Historical data can be queried in the database.)
Nickel Prices Slightly Declined This Week, Nickel Salt Production Costs Slightly Decreased
Cost side, MHP raw material market circulation was tight, and the MHP payable indicator remained high this week. Nickel prices side, nickel prices were suppressed by fundamentals early in the week and pulled back, then rebounded due to US economic data strengthening market expectations for an interest rate cut, with LME nickel prices slightly lower WoW. Overall, nickel prices were slightly lower WoW, while the MHP payable indicator remained high, resulting in a slight decrease in the immediate production cost of nickel salts WoW. As of Friday, the profit margin using MHP was 0.1%, using crude slag was -2.6%, using nickel briquette was -3.1%, and using high-grade nickel matte was 4.6%.
