[SMM Analysis] investigation and Forecast of supply and demand balance of Nickel Sulfate in China in April and May

SMM, 12 May,

From the supply side:

In April 2020, China's nickel sulfate output was 9900 tons of metal, and the physical amount was 44500 tons, down 6.88 percent from the previous month and 20.54 percent from the same period last year. The decline in nickel sulfate production this month is mainly related to the suspension of production at some factories and is expected to reduce production of 5000-6000 physical tons of nickel sulfate. Nickel prices rose in April, nickel sulfate raw materials rose, but nickel sulfate demand is still weak, some manufacturers chose to stop production to solve the problem of inventory backlog and low price shipment. However, it is understood that the nickel sulfate plant, which ceased production in April, is expected to resume production in late May, so national nickel sulfate production is expected to rise 4.97% month-on-month in May, and the month-on-month increase continues to decline from the same period last year.

From the demand side:

In April 2020, China's demand for nickel sulfate was 9615 tons of metal, down 3.7% from the previous month and 14.4% from the same period last year, which was related to the impact of the foreign epidemic in March on the global economy and the slow recovery of downstream demand. At the end of March, foreign epidemic outbreaks, European and American car companies stopped production, due to a certain conduction delay, it is expected that the order of the precursor factory in May will be reduced, and the demand for nickel sulfate will decline as a result.

Taken together,

In April 2020, a small amount of nickel sulfate accumulated in China, and the balance of supply and demand in the same month showed that the cumulative inventory was 58% lower than the previous month and 80% lower than the same period last year. The cumulative inventory of the balance of supply and demand is expected to increase by 69% in May from a month earlier, down 78% from the same period last year.