[SMM Nickel Sulphate Daily Review] March 18: Transaction Sentiment Was Relatively Weak, and Nickel Salt Prices Remained Stable

On March 18, the SMM average price of battery-grade nickel sulphate was unchanged.

Cost side, sentiment in the nonferrous metals market remained under pressure from the US dollar index and oil prices, nickel prices stayed in the doldrums, and the immediate production cost of nickel sulphate pulled back slightly; Supply side, MHP payables have recently shown an upward trend, and quotations from nickel salt smelters were lifted somewhat due to rising raw material costs; Demand side, some producers had procurement activity recently, but as downstream orders remained unclear and costs had not yet been passed on downstream, they still mainly adopted a wait-and-see stance toward high-priced nickel salts. Today, the Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor of upstream nickel salt smelters was 1.8, the procurement sentiment factor of downstream precursor plants was 2.6, and the sentiment factor of integrated enterprises was 2.3 (historical data is available in the database).

Looking ahead, as the monthly procurement period is expected to approach, attention should be paid to the extent of support from nickel prices and intermediate product supply for nickel sulphate prices from the cost side.

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