[SMM Nickel Sulphate Daily Review] June 29 Market transactions sluggish, nickel salt prices decline.

On June 29, SMM's average price for battery-grade nickel sulphate edged lower.

Cost side, interest rate hike expectations continued to weigh on the base metals market—nickel prices were in the doldrums recently, and spot production costs for nickel sulphate dropped significantly. Supply side, the tight supply of intermediate products persisted, with MHP payables and auxiliary material prices such as sulphuric acid staying high. Nickel salt smelters maintained high offer prices, though some enterprises released low-cost inventory. Demand side, at this mid-year period, downstream stockpiling sentiment was weak, and coupled with relatively soft 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 stockpiling period this month is expected to shift slightly later, and attention should be paid to the support nickel prices and intermediate products provide to costs.

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