[SMM Nickel Sulphate Daily Review] July 7: Early-Month Market Calm, Nickel Salt Prices Decline

On July 7, SMM’s average price for battery-grade nickel sulphate edged lower.

Cost side, nickel prices moved sideways, pressured by inventory levels and Fed rate hike expectations, causing spot production costs for nickel sulphate to consolidate at lows. 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 elevated offer prices, though some enterprises released low-cost inventory. Demand side, as nickel prices dropped sharply MoM and some downstream enterprises accumulated inventory, downstream restocking sentiment was weak, and acceptance of nickel salt prices was relatively low. Today, the upstream nickel salt smelter Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor registered 1.8, the downstream precursor plant Purchasing Sentiment Factor came in at 2.5, and the integrated enterprise sentiment factor stood at 2.4 (for historical data, please log in to the database).

Looking ahead, the stockpiling period in July is expected to shift to late in the month, and attention should be paid to how nickel prices and intermediate products affect cost support.

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