On June 10, the SMM average price for battery-grade nickel sulphate declined.
Cost side, expectations of interest rate hikes continued to weigh on nonferrous metals, and combined with persistent inventory buildup pressure on SHFE nickel, nickel prices fell further, pushing down the immediate cost of nickel sulphate production. Supply side, the tight supply of intermediate products remained unchanged, with MHP payables and prices of auxiliary materials such as sulphuric acid staying high, keeping nickel salt smelters' offers elevated. Demand side, the purchasing period has passed, downstream procurement sentiment pulled back, and coupled with relatively weak nickel prices, acceptance of nickel salt prices was relatively low. Today, the Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor for upstream nickel salt smelters was 1.8, the procurement sentiment factor for downstream precursor plants was 2.5, and the sentiment factor for integrated enterprises was 2.4 (historical data can be accessed via the database).
Looking ahead, the tight raw material situation is expected to persist, and nickel sulphate prices are expected to hold up well in the short term.
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