On August 20, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulfate index price was 27,408 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulfate between 27,430 and 27,790 yuan/mt. The average price increased compared to the previous day.

On the cost side, the recent market was influenced by expectations of Fed interest rate cuts and weak fundamentals for nickel. LME nickel prices remained low, leading to a pullback in short-term costs for nickel sulfate.

Market Analysis

On the supply side, nickel sulfate smelters maintained low spot inventory levels. Few spot order quotations were recorded recently, and high raw material cost pressures led smelters to maintain price resistance. On the demand side, some precursor plants still had restocking needs, showing active inquiries and increased price acceptance.

Today, the upstream nickel sulfate smelters' sales sentiment factor was 1.5, the downstream precursor plants' purchasing sentiment factor was 3.0, and the integrated enterprises' sentiment factor was 1.8 (historical data is available in the database).

Market Outlook

In the short term, the supply-demand pattern of the nickel sulfate market is expected to remain tight, and nickel sulfate prices are anticipated to recover.