[SMM Nickel Sulphate Daily Review] December 19th: Weak Procurement Sentiment, Nickel Salt Prices Remain Stable

On December 19, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 27,112 yuan/mt. The quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate was 27,380-27,480 yuan/mt, with the average price holding steady compared to the previous day.

Cost side, influenced by news that Indonesia's APNI announced a potential reduction in RKAB, LME nickel prices saw a significant rebound, driving up the immediate production costs for nickel salts. Supply side, raw material costs led some enterprises to have an inclination to raise quotations; however, due to relatively weak downstream raw material demand, the upstream's effort to hold prices firm has not yet translated into downstream acceptance. Demand side, as some producers still have raw material inventory, stockpiling sentiment for nickel salts was relatively sluggish recently, and transactions this month are expected to be quite scattered. Today, the willingness to sell sentiment factor for upstream nickel salt smelters was 1.8, the purchasing sentiment factor for downstream precursor plants was 2.6, and the sentiment factor for integrated enterprises was 2.6 (historical data can be queried by logging into the database).

Looking ahead, a pullback in downstream demand is exerting some pressure on prices. If nickel prices can rebound, it may provide cost support for nickel sulphate prices.

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