[SMM Nickel Sulphate Daily Review] December 17th: Weak Purchasing Sentiment, Nickel Salt Prices Decline

On December 17, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 27,129 yuan/mt, and the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate was 27,380-27,480 yuan/mt, with the average price down from the previous day.

Cost side, supported by hydrometallurgical production costs, LME nickel prices rebounded, but recent nickel salt production immediate costs remained low; Supply side, raw material costs prompted some enterprises to tend to raise quotations, but due to recent weak nickel price performance and relatively weak downstream raw material demand, upstream firm pricing had not yet translated into downstream acceptance; Demand side, as some producers still had raw material inventory, recent nickel salt stockpiling sentiment was relatively sluggish, and transactions this month were expected to be scattered. Today, the upstream nickel salt smelters' willingness to sell sentiment factor was 1.9, the downstream precursor plants' purchasing sentiment factor was 2.6, and the integrated enterprises' sentiment factor was 2.6 (historical data can be queried by logging into the database).

Looking ahead, downstream demand pullback exerted some pressure on prices, and if nickel prices can rebound, it may provide cost support for nickel salt prices.

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