China’s nickel sulfate price edges down on slow demand

Fastmarkets’ latest assessment for nickel sulfate min 21%, max 22.5%; cobalt 10ppm max, exw China stood at 26,500-27,800 yuan ($3,655-3,834) per tonne on Friday, narrowing downward by 200 yuan per tonne from 26,500-28,000 yuan per tonne on July 19.

On the same day, Fastmarkets’ assessment of nickel sulfate, cif Japan and Korea was at $3,739 per tonne, down by $143 per tonne from the previous assessment of $3,882 per tonne on July 19.

Sluggish demand and a lower LME nickel cash price has continued to pressure the nickel sulfate market over the past couple of weeks.

While nickel sulfate prices moved up slightly in mid-July due to a short-lived sentiment improvement amid a slightly better cathode precursor production plan for July, overall liquidity was slower than expected, according to sources.

“There have been some inquires in the past week, but for small quantities to keep their inventory at a low level,” one buyer source told Fastmarkets. “Most people are buying on a weekly basis to reduce the risk.”

Even though some sellers are holding the price firm due to having higher-priced MHP inventory, the feedstock for nickel sulfate production, it is difficult for buyers to accept.

The global nickel sulfate market showed a similar picture with prices falling for three consecutive weeks amid the continuous decline in the three-month LME nickel cash price.

Fastmarkets’ assessment of the nickel sulfate premium, cif Japan and Korea remained stable at $1,000 per tonne on Friday, nickel sulfate prices lost 3.68% week on week, with the weekly average LME nickel cash price down by 3.92% to $15,765 per tonne on the same day from $16,408 per tonne on July 19.

“The market does not look good. The spot liquidity is limited for the South Korean and Japanese markets,” a producer outside China said.

Slow demand in the international nickel sulfate market also weakened on the impact of BHP’s operation suspension at Nickel West and West Musgrave in Australia.

While a few market participants expressed concerns over the availability of Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)-compliant nickel raw materials with the absence of BHP’s supply of nickel briquette later this year, some are trying other sources such as Canada, or testing new types of feedstock such as MHP, used mostly by Chinese producers with a lower cost.

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