Spot Cargo Transactions Relatively Few, Nickel Salt Prices Flat WoW
As of Friday, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index stood at 28,434 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 28,450-28,650 yuan/mt, the average price flat WoW.
Demand side, spot transactions relatively decreased mid-month, with some downstream producers starting to inquire about raw materials for next month, price acceptance steady WoW; Supply side, nickel salt smelters have largely sold out spot cargo, coupled with cost pressure from high-priced raw materials, supporting nickel sulphate quotations to remain high.
Inventory side, this week the upstream nickel salt smelter inventory index maintained at 3.9 days, the downstream precursor plant inventory index dropped from 8.4 days to 7.7 days, inventory levels for buyers and sellers overall low, the integrated enterprise inventory index dropped from 6.8 days to 6.5 days; Buying/selling strength side, this week the upstream nickel salt smelter Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor rose from 1.6 to 1.7, the downstream precursor plant purchasing sentiment factor rose from 3.0 to 3.1, some enterprises started inquiring about raw materials for next month, the integrated enterprise sentiment factor maintained at 2.7. (Historical data available via database login)
LME Nickel Prices Declined This Week, Nickel Salt Production Costs Slightly Decreased
Cost side, MHP raw material market circulation tight, MHP payables maintained high this week. Nickel prices side, Sino-US trade friction and expectations for US Fed interest rate cuts jointly impacted the market, nickel prices declined further this week, rebounding only on Friday. Overall for the week, nickel prices decreased WoW, while MHP payables remained high, leading to a slight decrease in the immediate production cost of nickel sulphate WoW. As of Friday, the profit margin using MHP was -0.9%, using crude slag was -0.4%, using nickel briquette was -1.0%, and using high-grade nickel matte was 5.4%.
