SMM

SHANGHAI, May 4 (SMM) – The prices of battery-grade nickel sulphate were between 34,000-34,800 yuan/mt last Friday, down 750 yuan/mt from a week ago. Wait-and-see sentiment dominated the entire new energy vehicle industry chain, causing nickel sulphate prices to keep falling. To cope with sluggish demand, some nickel sulphate enterprises have started to reduce production since the end of March. High raw material prices and lower inventory encouraged some nickel sulphate enterprises to hold their offers firm. Downstream enterprises still restocked mostly as needed. However, as lithium prices have shown signs of stabilising, inquiries picked up, even as the transactions remained thin. If lithium prices stabilise for an extended period or even rebound, there may be large-scale purchases of nickel sulphate in May. Battery-grade nickel sulphate prices are expected between 33,800-35,500 yuan/mt this week.