Search results for Nickel sulfate

On May 23rd, The price of SMM battery grade nickel sulfate index is 32389 yuan/ton, an increase of 189 yuan/ton compared to the previous working day. The price of battery grade nickel sulfate is 32000-32500 yuan/ton, an average increase of 100 yuan/ton compared to the previous working day. The supply of nickel salts is limited by the current situation and expectations of raw materials, and finished product inventory remains at a low level. The combination of high raw material coefficients and high nickel prices has driven up raw material costs, forcing salt factories to deepen their profit inversion and triggering strong price hikes. Although the demand has weakened somewhat, it is constrained by the difficulties in building warehouses for some precursor factories in the early stage, and the temporary replenishment demand caused by order increments has forced downstream to accept high priced nickel salts. Therefore, nickel salt prices have rebounded. However, due to the high opening of nickel prices on Monday, the extent of profit recovery for salt plants is limited.

Nickel Sulfate Price Review and Forecast Price Performance: Last week, nickel sulphate prices rebounded, with the transaction range between 31,000-31,500 yuan/mt. Raw material side: 1) MHP: The discount coefficient held stable at 79-80% against LME nickel. Due to raw material supply concerns among downstream nickel sulphate smelters, overall MHP purchase activities turned robust. Nickel sulphate accepted high MHP discount coefficient amid positive H2 outlook for automotive end-users. The overall supply of MHP available for sale remained limited, and cargoes slated to arrive in early Q3 have already been booked. As overseas hydrometallurgy project shutdowns may continue to fuel market concerns about raw material supply, MHP discount coefficient is expected to run strong in the short term. However, it will have limited upward room since downstream nickel sulphate smelters suffered losses. 2) High nickel matte: As new production projects gradually ramp up, high nickel matte supply will stay ample, which caused its discount coefficient to show a gradual downward trend. The current discount coefficient stays at 84% against LME nickel. However, due to significant difficulty in purchasing MHP for Q3, high nickel matte will be more popular as an alternative for MHP, which may further pressure high nickel matte prices downward. Nickel sulphate: Fundamentally, supply and demand weakened. Supply side, due to persisting Q2 raw material supply tightness and smelters’ losses, the overall nickel sulphate supply was lower than expected. Demand side, car purchase enthusiasm declined during the Labour Day holiday but recovered to previous levels in the second week of May, with sales performance meeting expected growth rates. Still facing certain inventory pressure, battery cell makers adjusted inventories. Therefore, overall orders fell, affecting demand for nickel sulphate. Currently, nickel sulphate prices are driven by costs. High discount coefficient, macro sentiments and industry chain support helped nickel prices spike, making nickel sulphate smelters suffer more severe losses. Therefore, they held prices firm. As smelters held low finished product inventories and downstream only maintained essential inventories, downstream precursor makers had to accept high-priced nickel sulphate. It is expected that nickel sulphate smelters may see some profit margin recovery in the future due to temporary stockpiling from downstream, and nickel sulphate prices will stay between 31,500-32,000 yuan/mt. Please do not hesitate to contact Jean at jeantang@smm.cn or 86-19946295759 if you have any question or inquiry.

On May 21, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulfate index price was 32,004 yuan/ton, an increase of 417 yuan/ton from the previous working day, and the price of battery-grade nickel sulfate was 31,500-32,500 yuan/ton, with an average price increase of 400 yuan/ton from the previous working day. The supply of nickel salts is limited by the current situation and expectations of raw materials, and the inventory of finished products remains low. The high raw material coefficient and the high nickel price have pushed up the cost of raw materials, forcing the profit inversion of the salt plant to deepen, causing the salt plant to raise prices strongly. Although the demand has weakened, it is constrained by the difficulty of some precursor factories in the early stage, and the temporary replenishment demand caused by the increase in orders has forced the downstream to accept high-priced nickel salts. As a result, nickel salt prices rebounded. However, affected by the high opening of nickel prices on Monday, the profit recovery of salt plants is limited.

On May 14, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulfate index price was 30,977 yuan/ton, an increase of 29 yuan/ton from the previous working day, and the price of battery-grade nickel sulfate was 30,700-31,200 yuan/ton, with the average price being the same as the previous working day. The spot is tight, but the downstream procurement activity is gradually weakening, and the current supply and demand are weak. Affected by the strong operation of nickel prices after the holiday, the cost of nickel salt raw materials has moved up significantly, and the price sentiment of salt mills is still strong in the face of loss nodes. Market activity is currently low.

On May 11, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulfate index price was 30,948 yuan/ton, an increase of 220 yuan/ton from the previous working day, and the price of battery-grade nickel sulfate was 30,700-31,200 yuan/ton, with an average price increase of 200 yuan/ton from the previous working day. The spot is tight, but the downstream procurement activity is gradually weakening, and the current supply and demand are weak. Affected by the strong operation of nickel prices after the holiday, the cost of nickel salt raw materials has moved up significantly, and the price sentiment of salt mills is still strong in the face of loss nodes. Affected by the low price of salt plants, the acceptance of purchase prices has gradually increased, so the short-term nickel salt has risen. [Reprint needs to keep the source - Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Network] Profits are seriously inverted, and nickel salt prices are rising. For more information, please contact account manager: Zhuoxuanli@smm.cn

Nickel Sulfate Price Review and Forecast Price performance: Temporarily holding stable after inching upward. The current price of nickel sulphate is 30,500-31,000 yuan/mt, with transactions done at the lower end of the price range or average price. Cost side: Traders held prices firm amid limited MHP supply. Demand side, nickel sulphate smelters secured raw materials for Q2, waiting for arrival at ports. Some dependent on small-scale external procurement were reluctant to purchase MHP due to high nickel prices and MHP discount coefficient. The overall market activities were scarce. The nickel sulphate discount coefficient ran stable, and will stay at 80% in Q2. Looking ahead, the discount coefficient is expected to hold stable in the short term amid limited retail purchases and tight supply. The output of Indonesian high-grade nickel matte increased slightly. As new projects gradually ramped up production, the supply gradually became loose in April-May, while the demand held stable. Looking forward, the discount coefficient will show a gradual downward trend amid ample supply. Fundamentals: Affected by tight raw material supply and smelters’ losses, the output in April was 34,000 mt in metal content, up 0.66% MoM and 13.54% YoY. SMM estimates that the nickel sulphate output will be 33,200 mt in metal content in May, down 3.07% MoM but up 1.4% YoY, highlighting a supply crunch. The nickel sulphate demand from precursors improved in April. Precursor makers barely built stocks and purchased for rigid demand amid tight supply. However, the orders in May were reduced, as leading manufacturers have secured nickel raw materials for May and Indonesian nickel sulphate arrived at ports. Smelters held prices firm due to high nickel prices and losses caused by rising MHP prices. Therefore, short-term nickel sulphate prices will run stable. Looking ahead, nickel sulphate prices may fall if smelters’ profits recover from falling nickel prices. Nickel Sulfate Price Review and Forecast Please do not hesitate to contact Jean at jeantang@smm.cn or 86-19946295759 if you have any question or inquiry.

SMM May 7th: On May 7th, Jinchuan premium reported 1300-1500 yuan/ton, with an average price of 1400 yuan/ton, an average price of 50 yuan/ton compared with the previous trading day, and a premium of -700 to -200 yuan/ton, with an average price of -450 yuan/ton, an increase of 100 yuan/ton compared with the previous trading day. This morning, the market fluctuated but the absolute price was still at a high level, the overall purchasing sentiment was still relatively restrained, and the market trading sentiment was dominated by light. Today's nickel bean price is 140,700-141,500 yuan/ton, an increase of 800 yuan/ton from the spot price of the previous trading day, and the price difference between nickel beans and nickel sulfate today is about 1,327 yuan/ton. (The price of nickel sulfate is 1327 yuan/ton lower than the price of nickel beans).

SMM May 6th: On May 6th, Jinchuan premium was reported at 1400-1500 yuan/ton, with an average price of 1450 yuan/ton, an increase of 50 yuan/ton compared with the previous trading day, and the price of Russian nickel premium was -700 to -400 yuan/ton, with an average price of -550 yuan/ton, and the average price decreased by 50 yuan/ton compared with the previous trading day. This morning, the market fluctuated but the absolute price was still at a high level, the overall purchasing sentiment was still relatively restrained, and the market trading sentiment was dominated by light. Today's nickel bean price is 139,900-140,700 yuan/ton, a decrease of 450 yuan/ton from the spot price of the previous trading day, and the price difference between nickel beans and nickel sulfate today is about 755 yuan/ton. (The price of nickel sulfate is 755 yuan/ton lower than the price of nickel beans).

Nickel Sulfate Price Reiview and Forecast Price performance: The traded prices of nickel sulphate held stable last week, with an average discount of 100 yuan/mt against the SMM nickel sulphate price index. However, as upstream and downstream were in price negotiations, the price index fluctuated largely. The rising nickel prices pushed up costs, but the downstream rejected higher prices as supply and demand tensions eased compared with last month. In addition, the raw material discount coefficient loosened last week, causing the price index to fluctuate. Fundamentals: The nickel sulphate supply increased steadily, in line with the expectations last week. Demand side, new energy vehicle sales increased by 20% WoW, with the penetration rate up 2% to 48%. The mediocre sales failed to make up for the previous sales decrease influenced by the Qingming Festival. However, highly anticipated Auto China may elevate the penetration rate to reach 50%. Battery cell inventory was already at a low level, with the inventory-to-sales ratio at around 2 months. If NEV sales rise optimistically, it will increase the demand for NCM materials. The NCM cathode output is expected to increase about 10% MoM in April, and will be concentrated in the medium- and high-grade nickel series. Last week, some precursor markers began to purchase raw materials for late April and early May. Inquiries were active, but inventory barely increased as supply was tight. On the cost side, high-grade nickel matte and MHP discount coefficients loosened but had limited downward room. Rising nickel prices led to higher costs for nickel sulphate producers, so their profits shrank. However, as the supply and demand tensions eased but not reversed, nickel sulphate producers’ profits will have limited downward room, supported by high nickel sulphate prices, and nickel sulphate prices will fluctuate in tandem with nickel prices. Raw material side: 1) High-grade nickel matte: As Indonesia's production steadily ramps up, it is expected that the output will gradually rise this and next month. With the gradually ample supply in the future, high-grade nickel matte discount coefficient may loosen. The high-grade nickel matte prices last week held stable as the previous week. The current discount coefficient of high-grade nickel matte remained at around 84% against LME nickel, versus 83% for future cargoes. 2) MHP: Currently, traders have released some MHP that will arrive at ports in May and June. Affected by the expectations of intermediate product oversupply in the future and poor purchases since nickel sulphate producers had secured raw material in Q2, the MHP discount coefficient has loosened to 79-80%. However, as the supply and demand tension is not completely reversed in the short term, it is expected that the room for price concessions by sellers will be limited. Last week, rising nickel prices deteriorated profits of nickel sulphate, but provided support for nickel sulphate price hikes. Please do not hesitate to contact Jean at jeantang@smm.cn or 86-19946295759 if you have any question or inquiry.

Jinchuan premium was reported at 2200-2300 yuan/ton, with an average price of 2250 yuan/ton, an average price of 50 yuan/ton compared with the previous trading day, and a premium of -500 to -200 yuan/ton for Russian nickel, with an average price of -350 yuan/ton, and an average price of 50 yuan/ton compared with the previous trading day. Today's morning market was affected by the night market rally, and the spot market was affected by nickel prices and was fully stocked in the early stage, and today's transaction was overall light. Today's nickel bean price is 133,500-133,750 yuan/ton, an increase of 2,225 yuan/ton from the spot price of the previous trading day, and the price difference between nickel beans and nickel sulfate today is about 4,102 yuan/ton. (The price of nickel sulfate is 4102 yuan/ton higher than the price of nickel beans).

SMM April 11: On April 11, Jinchuan premium was reported at 1900-2000 yuan/ton, with an average price of 1950 yuan/ton, an average price of 300 yuan/ton compared with the previous trading day, and a premium of -500 to -200 yuan/ton for Russian nickel, with an average price of -350 yuan/ton, and the average price was flat compared with the previous trading day. Shanghai nickel ran strongly this morning, and the overall transaction in the spot market was relatively stable, and most of the transactions were just purchased. Today's nickel bean price is 135,850-136,250 yuan/ton, a decrease of 100 yuan/ton from the spot price of the previous trading day, and the price difference between nickel beans and nickel sulfate today is about 2,132 yuan/ton. (The price of nickel sulfate is 2132 yuan/ton higher than the price of nickel beans).

On April 3, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulfate index price was 30,550 yuan/ton, down 98 yuan/ton from the previous working day, and the price of battery-grade nickel sulfate was 30,400-30,800 yuan/ton, with an average price of 150 yuan/ton lower than the previous working day. At present, the transaction activity has weakened, and the transaction center is low. At present, the downstream acceptance of high-priced nickel sulfate is gradually decreasing, and the transaction price range has moved down as a whole. However, due to the relatively tight spot in early April, the low range was not as low as the high range. A leading enterprise has increased the volume of some nickel sulfate, and the tight spot situation in the market may be gradually reversed, and there is still a downside risk in the subsequent nickel sulfate price.

The price range for battery-grade nickel sulfate was 30,500-31,000 yuan/ton, with an average price unchanged from the previous working day. Currently, the activity level of inquiries has weakened slightly, and procurement by precursor companies is nearing completion by mid-April. Transaction centers are relatively average. Affected by the fluctuation of nickel prices, downstream psychological price levels for nickel salt procurement have slightly decreased. However, due to the temporary unchanged supply and demand tensions for nickel salt, current transaction prices remain stable.

Since the continuous rise in nickel sulfate prices after the holiday, nickel sulfate has become the focus of attention in the nickel industry chain recently, so what is the specific reason? In a word, the supply and demand of nickel sulfate finished products are tighter than raw materials, making the price of nickel sulfate rise faster than raw materials in the near future. We analyze the finished product and the raw material side separately. First of all, the focus is on returning to the situation of wet intermediates, the main raw material of nickel sulfate. Since the end of last year, Indonesia's wet process project A has started technical transformation, and the pace of production ramp-up has been relatively slow. Indonesia's wet process project B converted some of the intermediates to nickel sulfate. Under the premise that no new wet process projects are put into operation in the first half of 2024, the overall supply of wet process intermediates has shrunk. However, from the demand side, with the gradual resumption of work and production of salt factories after the holiday, the demand for raw materials still exists. In the same period, the supply of high ice nickel decreased, and the raw material gap caused by the reduction of high ice nickel in some enterprises needed to be filled by wet intermediates. A phased mismatch between supply and demand has emerged. With the gradual advancement of the resumption of work and production of nickel salt manufacturers, the recovery of demand for wet intermediate products has also made its supply and demand tighter and more intense, and the price has risen. The upward speed once exceeded the finished product, and the salt plant was in a profit inversion for a long time and did not improve. At the same juncture, the supply of scrap as another raw material for nickel sulfate has not been improved, and the price has also begun to rise with the price of nickel sulfate and cobalt sulfate products rising slightly. In the case of the limited upward speed of nickel sulfate prices, the wet recycling plant is limited by high-priced raw materials, and the pace of resumption of production is slow and less than expected. After the situation of tight raw materials and high prices, the reluctance of salt factories to sell emerged, and the operating rate was difficult to return to the pre-holiday height. From another dimension, while the supply of nickel salts is limited by raw materials, the mismatch between the pre-holiday nickel salts and the downstream ternary precursor destocking rhythm exacerbates the mismatch between the supply and demand of finished products in the market. Nickel salt manufacturers concentrated at the end of last year due to financial pressure to go to the warehouse, and the downstream ternary ternary material industry chain continued to complete the depot until February this year. When the good expectation of car sales in March brought a glimmer of hope due to the smooth flow of the material industry chain to the upstream, the problem of tight supply and demand completely broke out. After the holiday, the overall resumption of nickel sulfate production was less than expected, and the low inventory of finished products and downstream ternary precursor raw materials of the salt plant collided dramatically, and the price of nickel sulfate began to rise beyond expectations. The tension between the supply and demand of finished products gradually surpassed that of raw materials, and the salt factory gradually got out of the upside down, and the profits were repaired. As of today, all the raw materials for nickel salt production of nickel sulfate have come out of the upside-down. However, on the downstream precursor side, although the share of ternary batteries has increased significantly so far, the sales of some models have been boosted, and the demand increment has been smoothly transmitted, which has brought about a relatively optimistic order in March. However, due to the squeeze on raw material prices brought about by the escalation of the price war of new energy vehicles, it is difficult for high-priced precursors to conduct downward. As an industry with a large overcapacity, nickel sulfate is also difficult to strive for large profits in the downstream market. It is expected that in the future, the rapid rise in nickel sulfate prices may be difficult to increase continously.

On March 18, the price of SMM battery-grade nickel sulfate index was 29,968 yuan/ton, an increase of 197 yuan/ton from the previous working day, and the price of battery-grade nickel sulfate was 29,800-30,300 yuan/ton, with an average price increase of 200/ton from the previous working day. On March 18, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulfate index price was 29,968 yuan/ton, an increase of 197 yuan/ton from the previous working day, and the price of battery-grade nickel sulfate was 29,800-30,300 yuan/ton, with an average price increase of 200/ton from the previous working day. At present, the MHP coefficient is still at a high level, and the LME nickel coefficient is 80-81. The downstream is relatively positive about the preparation and mining of raw materials at the end of March and the beginning of April, so the supply is tight, and the upward driving force of the cost side to the price of nickel salt still exists.