[SMM Nickel Sulphate Daily Review] November 25: Refined Nickel Conversion Increases Supply, Nickel Salt Prices Under Pressure

On November 25, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 27,699 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate between 27,820-28,000 yuan/mt; the average price declined compared to the previous day.

Cost side, the US Fed signaled an increased probability of interest rate cuts, and LME nickel prices continued to rebound, leading to a rise in the immediate production cost for nickel salt smelters. Supply side, some enterprises recently showed an inclination to shift from producing refined nickel to nickel salt, creating expectations of relatively ample raw material supply in the market. Coupled with a slight weakening in cost support, nickel salt quotations softened. Demand side, some producers still hold raw material inventory, resulting in relatively sluggish purchasing sentiment for nickel sulphate recently. As the month-end procurement period approaches, price acceptance has not increased. Today, the Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor for upstream nickel salt smelters was 1.8, the Purchasing Sentiment Factor for downstream precursor plants was 2.8, and the Sentiment Factor for integrated enterprises was 2.7 (historical data can be queried by logging into the database).

Looking ahead, with no significant increase in downstream demand, rising nickel sulphate supply is expected to exert some pressure on prices. If nickel prices rebound further, it may provide some support to production costs.

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