[SMM Nickel Sulphate Daily Review] November 27: Expectations of Supply Increase Persist, Nickel Salt Prices Slightly Decline

On November 27, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 27,644 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 27,740-27,900 yuan/mt; the average price edged down slightly compared to yesterday.

Cost side, recent signals from the US Fed indicating a higher probability of interest rate cuts, coupled with the China-US call boosting market confidence, led to a rebound in the immediate production costs for nickel salt smelters recently. Supply side, some enterprises recently showed a tendency to shift from refined nickel to nickel salt production, creating expectations of relatively ample raw material supply in the market; combined with the weakened cost support from earlier periods, nickel salt quotations loosened. Demand side, some producers still held raw material inventory, procurement sentiment for nickel sulphate remained relatively sluggish recently, and with the month-end procurement period approaching, price acceptance did not see an increase. Today, the Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor for upstream nickel salt smelters was 1.9, the procurement sentiment factor for downstream precursor plants was 2.9, and the sentiment factor for integrated enterprises was 2.7 (historical data available via database login).

Looking ahead, with no significant increase in downstream demand, rising nickel sulphate supply will exert some pressure on prices; however, if nickel prices rebound further, it may provide some support to production costs, potentially boosting nickel sulphate prices.

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