This week, the nickel salt market pulled back slightly, with demand remaining weak.
As of Thursday, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price stood at 26,588 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate between 26,400 and 27,060 yuan/mt. The average price dropped WoW.
Demand side, ternary cathode precursor enterprises saw reduced orders due to weakened end-use demand, leading to decreased demand for nickel salts. Meanwhile, most precursor manufacturers had stocked up sufficient inventory for February before the holiday, resulting in fewer inquiries from precursor manufacturers in the market this week. Market transaction activity weakened compared to last week, remaining at a low level.
Supply side, some nickel salt smelters have not resumed production due to losses. Currently, most nickel salt smelters have kept their quotations stable compared to last week.
As downstream ternary cathode precursor plants have not seen improvements in their March production schedules, demand for nickel salts is expected to remain low for the month. At present, the supply-demand relationship for nickel salts is anticipated to remain tightly balanced in March. Therefore, during the traditional nickel salt procurement period next week, market transaction prices are expected to remain stable.
