Weak downstream procurement demand led to a decline in nickel salt prices.
As of Friday, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index stood at 27,112 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate between 27,380-27,480 yuan/mt; the average price fell WoW.
Demand side, production schedule expectations for downstream players softened this month, some producers still held accumulated raw material inventory, coupled with year-end destocking tendencies among some manufacturers, recent procurement sentiment remained relatively weak. Supply side, some producers showed willingness to hold prices firm due to raw material costs, but overall weak downstream demand limited price acceptance. Looking ahead, demand is expected to pull back this month, continuing pressure on nickel salt prices, with attention on nickel price trends impacting costs.
Inventory side, upstream nickel salt smelter inventory index held at 4.9 days this week, downstream precursor plant inventory index dropped from 8.8 days to 8.3 days, overall destocking is anticipated this month. Integrated enterprise inventory index remained at 7.3 days. Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor for upstream nickel salt smelters held at 1.8 this week, while downstream precursor plant procurement sentiment factor fell from 2.8 to 2.6. Overall transaction sentiment weakened, with the integrated enterprise sentiment factor dropping from 2.7 to 2.6. (Historical data available via database.)
Nickel prices traced a V-shape this week, nickel salt production costs first declined then rose.
Cost side, MHP payables remained high as market availability tightened. Nickel prices significantly rebounded after an initial slump, driven by Indonesia's APNI stance on RKAB. For the week, nickel prices rose WoW, MHP payables held steady, pushing up nickel salt production costs. As of Friday, profit margins stood at 1.9% for MHP, -4.2% for crude slag, -1.7% for nickel briquette, and 7.3% for high-grade nickel matte.
