During the Labor Day holiday, the Shanghai Futures Exchange was closed and trading in SHFE nickel was suspended. On the raw material side, MHP supply remains tight, with transaction coefficients now at 83-85%, providing strong cost support and limiting room for price declines. Due to high raw material costs, nickel salt producers are expected to rely on inventories, with some considering production cuts to ease cost pressure. On the demand side, downstream orders were front-loaded, and April precursor production saw little change. Weak demand and strong terminal bargaining power are keeping prices stable for now.
Source: Mysteel
Nickel sulfate production costs increased due to a rise in MHP processing coefficients. As of April 30, nickel sulfate crystal prices remained flat, with a midpoint of Yuan 27,750/t. Current spot production costs for nickel sulfate from nickel hydroxide are approximately Yuan 28,214.0/t and Yuan 26,950.5/t from nickel matte.
Nickel sulfate made from nickel hydroxide now faces a spot loss of Yuan 463.97/t, while production using nickel matte has turned marginally profitable. Overall, production costs have seen limited changes recently, and spot profit losses have slightly narrowed. However, with MHP and nickel matte premiums expected to rise further, nickel sulfate margins are likely to shrink.
Source: Mysteel
Written by Cora Ji, jiruyan@mysteel.com
