[SMM Analysis] Weak Downstream Procurement Demand Leads to Decline in Nickel Salt Prices

Weak Downstream Procurement Demand and Decline in Nickel Salt Prices

As of Thursday this week, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price stood at 27,121 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 27,380-27,480 yuan/mt. The average price pulled back WoW.

Demand side, production schedule expectations for downstream players declined this month, some producers still had certain raw material inventory accumulation, coupled with year-end inventory control tendencies among some manufacturers, leading to relatively weak procurement sentiment recently. Supply side, some producers showed willingness to hold prices firm due to raw material costs, but overall weak downstream demand has not yet led to increased price acceptance. Looking ahead, demand pullback this month is expected to continue exerting pressure on nickel salt prices, and attention should be paid to the impact of nickel price trends on nickel salt costs.

Inventory side, the upstream nickel salt smelter inventory index remained at 4.9 days this week, while the downstream precursor plant inventory index dropped from 8.8 days to 8.3 days. Downstream sectors are expected to focus on destocking this month overall, with the integrated enterprise inventory index holding at 7.3 days. In terms of trading strength, the upstream nickel salt smelter's willingness to sell sentiment factor remained at 1.8 this week, while the downstream precursor plant's procurement sentiment factor decreased from 2.8 to 2.6. Overall transaction sentiment across the upstream and downstream was weak, and the integrated enterprise sentiment factor dropped from 2.7 to 2.6. (Historical data is available in the database.)