[SMM Nickel Sulphate Daily Review] July 16, Market Trading Sluggish, Nickel Salt Prices Slightly Lower

On July 16, the SMM average price of battery-grade nickel sulphate remained stable.

Cost side, expectations for sulphur festering together with a technical correction sent nickel prices sharply higher today, lifting immediate production costs for nickel sulphate; supply side, intermediate product supply tightness remained unchanged, MHP payables and prices of auxiliary materials such as sulphuric acid remained at high levels, some nickel salt smelters had expectations for production cuts, while some recycling enterprises released inventory; demand side, due to the sharp decline in nickel prices compared to the previous month and the inventory accumulation at some downstream enterprises, downstream stockpiling sentiment was weak, with relatively low acceptance of nickel salt prices. 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 by logging into the database).

Looking ahead, the stockpiling period in July is expected to be pushed back to the second half of the month, and attention should be paid to the impact of nickel prices and intermediate products on cost support strength.

[For more content, subscribe to SMM Nickel Research Team's products, the China Nickel-Chrome-Stainless Steel Industry Chain Regular Report, and the China Nickel-Chrome-Stainless Steel Industry Chain High-End Report, to get the latest data analysis and market insights on nickel ore, NPI (China + Indonesia), refined nickel, nickel sulphate, chrome ore, ferrochrome, and stainless steel (China + Indonesia)! ]