Trading Sentiment Remained Weak With Nickel Salt Prices Slightly Down
As of Friday, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index stood at 28,212 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 28,290-28,490 yuan/mt; the average price pulled back WoW.
Demand side, trading sentiment remained relatively weak mid-month, as some producers had accumulated certain raw material inventory, leading to a slight decline in price acceptance. Supply side, spot nickel sulphate availability improved slightly MoM, but cost pressure from high-priced raw materials continued to support nickel sulphate quotations at elevated levels. Looking ahead, downstream raw material procurement demand this month did not weaken significantly YoY, but improved nickel sulphate supply may exert pressure on nickel sulphate prices.
Inventory side, upstream nickel salt smelter inventory index held at 4.3 days this week, while downstream precursor plant inventory index dropped from 9.4 days to 8.9 days, and integrated enterprise inventory index remained at 6.5 days. Willingness to sell sentiment factor for upstream nickel salt smelters held at 1.7 this week, purchasing sentiment factor for downstream precursor plants remained at 2.7, mid-month purchasing and trading sentiment stayed low, and integrated enterprise sentiment factor held at 2.7. (Historical data available in the database.)
Nickel Prices Continued to Decline This Week With Nickel Salt Production Costs Pulling Back
Cost side, MHP raw material market availability remained tight, with MHP payables holding high this week. Nickel prices fell further this week, pressured by high inventory and weak fundamentals. Overall, nickel prices dropped WoW, while MHP payables held steady, driving immediate nickel sulphate production costs down further WoW. As of Friday, profit margins stood at 0.9% for MHP, -0.5% for crude slag, 1.5% for nickel briquette, and 6.7% for high-grade nickel matte.
