Nickel Sulphate Prices to Rebound in the Near Term

SHANGHAI, Apr 24 (SMM) - Last Friday, quotes of battery-grade nickel sulphate were 34,800-35,500 yuan/mt, down 200 yuan/mt WoW. SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate price index was 35,237 yuan/mt, down 554 yuan/mt WoW. The price decline of nickel sulphate last week slowed down, driven by the huge gap between the desired offers and quotes. The overall demand for nickel sulphate was weak as ternary precursor enterprises slashed their production and offered low quotes. On the other hand, the salt plants held their prices firm amid the high-priced raw materials stored earlier, the risks of losses and the slowdown in production schedules in April. To sum up, the disagreement on prices between buyers and sellers gave rise to fewer deals closed at low prices, and the nickel sulphate prices saw a slowdown in decline. However, the largest price spread between nickel sulphate and pure nickel once expanded to 38,100 yuan/mt last week on account of the surging nickel prices, which attracted some traders to purchase nickel sulphate. It is thus expected that nickel sulphate may bounce back in the near term. And the prices will be 34,500-35,800 yuan/mt this week.