Fastmarkets assessed the price of
nickel sulfate min 21%, max 22.5%, cobalt 10ppm max, exw China at 33,000-33,500 yuan ($5,133-5,211) per tonne on Friday January 29, up by 1,000 yuan per tonne (3.1%) from 32,000-32,500 yuan per tonne a week earlier.
This marked an all-time high based on Fastmarkets’ records, surpassing the previous record high of 32,000-32,500 yuan per tonne reached in September 2019.
The market began to strengthen in July last year, rising steadily until the end of August before the momentum slowed and the price was largely stable throughout September-November. But the uptrend resumed in early December and the price
set a fresh 2020 high in the middle of that month.
A robust recovery in the Chinese automotive market during the second half of 2020 is widely acknowledged by market participants to have boosted the domestic nickel...
