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nickel price drop pauses as cathode makers top up inventory","chinese-nickel-price-drop-pauses-as-cathode-makers-top-up-inventory","article/chinese-nickel-price-drop-pauses-as-cathode-makers-top-up-inventory",{"_uid":557,"date":558,"tags":559,"editor":566,"content":576,"excerpt":722,"featured":51,"reporter":723,"_editable":727,"component":728,"seo_title":553,"categories":729,"visibility":740,"author_company":49,"featured_image":741,"seo_description":722,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":745,"formattedArticleDate":746},"e83c8338-9979-45dc-9fa0-b89b9bab4230","2024-03-13 00:00",[560,563],{"slug":561,"name":562},"china","China",{"slug":564,"name":565},"nickel-prices","Nickel prices",[567],{"slug":568,"name":569,"content":570},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":571,"image":572,"bio":574,"linkedin":575},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":573},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":577,"content":578},"doc",[579,586,609,620,633,638,650,655,660,669,674,679,690,697,702,707,712,717],{"type":580,"attrs":581,"content":582},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[583],{"text":584,"type":585},"Chinese nickel sulphate prices rose to their highest in four months at the end of February as nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cathode makers topped up their depleting inventories amid tight supplies after the Chinese Spring Festival.","text",{"type":580,"attrs":587,"content":588},{"textAlign":49},[589,591,599,601,607],{"text":590,"type":585},"The latest uptick in prices also follows a number of ",{"text":592,"type":585,"marks":593},"production cuts",[594],{"type":595,"attrs":596},"link",{"href":597,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":598},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/nickel-miners-struggle-amid-falling-prices-supply-glut","url",{"text":600,"type":585}," announced last month by nickel producers in China and Indonesia as they looked to rein in losses and ",{"text":602,"type":585,"marks":603},"lower the supply surplus",[604],{"type":595,"attrs":605},{"href":606,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":598},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/nickel/nickel-facilities-across-the-asia-announce-output-cuts-benchmark-nickel/",{"text":608,"type":585},".",{"type":580,"attrs":610,"content":611},{"textAlign":49},[612,614],{"text":613,"type":585},"Average prices for nickel sulphate in China increased 4.2% to RMB 28,200 ($3,920) per tonne in the week ending February 29, reaching their highest level since November 2023, according to the ",{"text":615,"type":585,"marks":616},"Benchmark’s Nickel Price Assessment.",[617],{"type":595,"attrs":618},{"href":619,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":598},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/nickel/portal",{"type":580,"attrs":621,"content":622},{"textAlign":49},[623,625,631],{"text":624,"type":585},"“Nickel demand from the battery sector is picking up whilst ",{"text":626,"type":585,"marks":627},"supply has been slow",[628],{"type":595,"attrs":629},{"href":630,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":598},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/chinese-nickel-sulphate-prices-near-three-year-low-amid-weak-battery-demand",{"text":632,"type":585}," to pick back up following the Spring Festival,” said Spencer Ingall, analyst at Benchmark.",{"type":580,"attrs":634,"content":635},{"textAlign":49},[636],{"text":637,"type":585},"The supplies were also tight as the Chinese-owned mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) producers in Indonesia took longer to resume operations after the key holiday when factory workers are on leave for nearly two weeks.",{"type":580,"attrs":639,"content":640},{"textAlign":49},[641,643,649],{"text":642,"type":585},"Nickel supply is expected to be in surplus of around 260,000 tonnes this year, according to the ",{"text":644,"type":585,"marks":645},"Benchmark Nickel Forecast",[646],{"type":595,"attrs":647},{"href":648,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":598},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/nickel/reports",{"text":608,"type":585},{"type":580,"attrs":651,"content":652},{"textAlign":49},[653],{"text":654,"type":585},"“Almost all of the negative price sentiment over the last year has been in reference to the oversupply in the nickel market,” said Ingall, adding that delay in the approval of mining quotas in Indonesia may restrict new refiners in the region from getting an allocated ore supply.",{"type":580,"attrs":656,"content":657},{"textAlign":49},[658],{"text":659,"type":585},"Prices of nickel sulphate CIF Asia (normalised) also saw an increase during the assessment period, up 5.7% to $17,546 per tonne. Meanwhile, nickel MHP CIF Asia prices increased 10.6% to $13,238 per tonne.",{"type":580,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"type":664,"attrs":665},"image",{"id":49,"alt":666,"src":667,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":668},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/9cf00539ef/bm-nickel-price-chart-feb-24.png",{},{"type":580,"attrs":670,"content":671},{"textAlign":49},[672],{"text":673,"type":585},"Despite the recent buying uptick, the nickel supply chain remains cautious towards restocking due to concerns over falling nickel prices, according to Benchmark analyst Nicole Peng.",{"type":580,"attrs":675,"content":676},{"textAlign":49},[677],{"text":678,"type":585},"“Sulphate refiners currently have low inventory levels, with production dictated by demand every month, with the inventory of raw material MHP also low for the same reason,” said Peng.",{"type":580,"attrs":680,"content":681},{"textAlign":49},[682,684,689],{"text":683,"type":585},"Chinese nickel sulphate prices have declined 27.7% year-on-year, according to the ",{"text":685,"type":585,"marks":686},"Benchmark Nickel Price Assessment",[687],{"type":595,"attrs":688},{"href":619,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":598},{"text":608,"type":585},{"type":691,"attrs":692,"content":694},"heading",{"level":693,"textAlign":49},4,[695],{"text":696,"type":585},"Benchmark to launch first of its kind sustainable nickel sulphate pricing",{"type":580,"attrs":698,"content":699},{"textAlign":49},[700],{"text":701,"type":585},"Benchmark will launch a Sustainable Nickel Sulphate, CIF Asia, price in March, in response to growing demand from the lithium ion battery supply chain for pricing which takes into account the sustainability credentials of the products under assessment.",{"type":580,"attrs":703,"content":704},{"textAlign":49},[705],{"text":706,"type":585},"The new price will be assessed by Benchmark using primary data collected directly from active market participants and will only consider transactions for material that originates from Industry Leading producers, according to the Benchmark’s Nickel Sustainability Index.",{"type":580,"attrs":708,"content":709},{"textAlign":49},[710],{"text":711,"type":585},"Benchmark’s Nickel Sustainability Index is published quarterly in the Benchmark Nickel ESG Report, and currently measures 79 indicators categorised under environmental, social and governance components to form a composite score.",{"type":580,"attrs":713,"content":714},{"textAlign":49},[715],{"text":716,"type":585},"Producers who score above 70, are deemed “Industry Leading” by Benchmark.",{"type":580,"attrs":718,"content":719},{"textAlign":49},[720],{"text":721,"type":585},"As with all other nickel grades under assessment, transactional price data is collected directly from active buyers and sellers in the market. Benchmark will only use price data for material traded on a spot basis and will publish the Sustainable Nickel Sulphate price on a fortnightly basis.","Chinese nickel sulphate prices rose to their highest in four months at the end of February as nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) cathode makers topped up their depleting inventories amid tight supplies after the Chinese Spring Festival. The latest uptick in prices also follows a number of production cuts announced last month by nickel producers in […]",[724],{"slug":568,"name":569,"content":725},{"job_title":571,"image":726,"bio":574,"linkedin":575},{"filename":573},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"e83c8338-9979-45dc-9fa0-b89b9bab4230\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[730,733,735,738],{"slug":731,"name":732},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":734,"name":300},"cathode",{"slug":736,"name":737},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":739,"name":151},"nickel","private",{"id":49,"alt":666,"name":666,"focus":666,"title":666,"source":666,"filename":742,"copyright":666,"fieldtype":743,"meta_data":744,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/2f1ff980e0/bm-bmiprices1.png","asset",{"alt":666,"title":666,"source":666,"copyright":666},"Mar 13, 2024","13th March 2024",[],[],1790082821367]