[SMM Nickel Sulphate Daily Commentary] June 5: Nickel prices slumped sharply, nickel salt prices declined.

On June 5, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate average price slipped.

From the cost side, yesterday the escalating US-Iran conflict spurred expectations of interest rate hikes, causing nonferrous metals to come under broad pressure and decline, and the spot cost of nickel sulphate production pulled back; from the supply side, nickel prices, MHP payables, and auxiliary materials such as sulphuric acid remained high, with nickel salt smelters holding offers at elevated levels; from the demand side, recently some downstream enterprises stockpiled nickel sulphate for June, but due to relatively weak nickel prices, their acceptance of nickel salt prices was relatively low. Today, the Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor for upstream nickel salt smelters was 2.0, the procurement sentiment factor for downstream precursor plants was 2.6, and the sentiment factor for integrated enterprises was 2.4 (historical data can be accessed by logging into the database).

Looking ahead, the tight raw material supply is expected to persist, and nickel sulphate prices are expected to hold up well in the short term.

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