[SMM Analysis] High Nickel Prices Stimulate Sentiment to Hold Prices Firm, Nickel Salt Prices Slightly Increase

On January 29, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 32,857 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 32,300-34,500 yuan/mt, and the average price rose slightly compared to yesterday.
Cost side, nickel prices continued to fluctuate amid macro sentiment support and Indonesian policy disruptions, and nickel prices rose slightly again today, pushing up the immediate production costs for nickel salt smelters. Supply side, following today's rise in nickel prices, some nickel salt producers showed stronger willingness to hold prices firm due to expectations of rising raw material costs. Demand side, as the Chinese New Year approaches, some producers have certain raw material stocking demand, but others that have already stocked up for the holiday are mainly adopting a wait-and-see stance amid highly volatile nickel prices, resulting in relatively sluggish market transactions. Looking ahead, as the stockpiling period before the Chinese New Year approaches, if nickel prices continue to hold up well, cost support may bolster nickel sulphate prices.