On June 30, the average price of SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate declined.
Cost side, rate hike expectations continued to weigh on the non-ferrous metals market, nickel prices were recently in the doldrums, and the spot production cost of nickel sulphate fell significantly; Supply side, the tight supply of intermediate products remained unchanged, MHP payables and prices of auxiliary materials such as sulphuric acid stayed high, nickel salt smelters kept their offers high, but some enterprises released low-cost inventory; Demand side, at the mid-year period, downstream stockpiling sentiment was weak, combined with relatively weak nickel prices, their acceptance of nickel salt prices was relatively low. Today, the Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor for upstream nickel salt smelters was 1.8, the Willingness to Purchase Sentiment Factor for downstream precursor plants was 2.5, and the Sentiment Factor for Integrated Enterprises was 2.4 (historical data can be queried by logging into the database).
Looking ahead, the stockpiling period this month is expected to shift slightly later, and attention should be paid to the impact of nickel prices and intermediate products on cost support.
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