镍、不锈钢月度策略报告-20250428

1. Report Industry Investment Rating - Not provided in the document 2. Core Viewpoints of the Report - Indonesia's PNBP policy is set to be implemented on the 26th, but its impact on cost increase is expected to be limited. The domestic trade prices of Indonesian nickel ore showed mixed trends last week, while the premium remained stable [4]. - In the stainless - steel market, the nickel - iron in the raw material segment weakened slightly, but the ferro - chrome remained strong, providing effective cost support. Production cuts were observed on the supply side, and inventory decreased significantly last week due to pre - May Day stocking. In May, stainless - steel prices are expected to fluctuate, with cost providing a bottom - line and demand acting as a constraint [4]. - In the new energy sector, the supply of MHP was tighter than expected, and there may be pressure on the demand side of nickel sulfate. In May, with the recovery of raw material supply and the weakening of stocking demand, prices may lack support [4]. - For primary nickel, the domestic social inventory continued to increase last week, indicating growing oversupply pressure. In May, the nickel ore and MHP segments are relatively strong in the short term, and over - bearish views are not advisable. However, in the long run, prices in the nickel ore, nickel - iron, and new energy industrial chains are expected to decline. If the inventory of primary nickel in China continues to increase, it will put more pressure on nickel prices [4]. 3. Summary According to the Directory 3.1 Price - Monthly, Shanghai nickel fell 2.6%, and LME nickel fell 2.1%. The prices in the industrial chain recovered after a significant decline affected by the macro - environment. Weekly, nickel ore and nickel sulfate prices rose slightly, while nickel - iron prices fell [5][6]. 3.2 Inventory - LME inventory decreased by 120 tons to 202,470 tons last week; Shanghai nickel inventory decreased by 42 tons to 24,800 tons; social inventory increased by 701 tons to 44,661 tons; and bonded - area inventory remained at 5,800 tons [5][12]. 3.3 Supply 3.3.1 Nickel Ore - The price of Indonesian laterite nickel ore with a grade of 1.2% decreased by $0.4 per wet ton to $24 per wet ton, while that of 1.6% increased by $1.5 per ton to $52.5 per ton. The premium of Indonesian nickel ore remained at $25 per wet ton, and the premium of low - grade Philippine nickel ore remained stable [4][5][18]. 3.3.2 Refined Nickel - Futures prices fluctuated within a narrow range, and the spot premium decreased slightly [5][19]. 3.3.3 Nickel Iron - The center of the nickel - iron transaction price in the market moved downward [5][24]. 3.3.4 Intermediate Products - Production in Indonesia was affected, resulting in a relatively tight short - term supply [5][27]. 3.3.5 Nickel Sulfate - Raw material prices were relatively strong, and theoretical profits turned into losses [5][33]. 3.4 Demand 3.4.1 Ternary Precursor - Weekly inventory decreased by 263 tons to 14,195 tons [4][5]. 3.4.2 Power Cells - Weekly cell production increased by 7.9% to 24.98 GWh, with lithium - iron cells increasing by 10.7% to 17.37 GWh and ternary cells increasing by 1.9% to 7.61 GWh [4][5][50]. 3.4.3 Lithium - ion Batteries and New - energy Vehicles - From April 1st to 20th, the retail volume of the national new - energy passenger vehicle market was 478,000 units, a 20% increase compared to the same period last April, a 11% decrease compared to the same period last month, with a retail penetration rate of 53.3%. The cumulative retail volume this year was 2.898 million units, a 33% increase year - on - year. The wholesale volume of new - energy passenger vehicles by national manufacturers was 530,000 units, a 23% increase compared to the same period last April, a 7% decrease compared to the same period last month, with a wholesale penetration rate of 53.3%. The cumulative wholesale volume this year was 3.378 million units, a 39% increase year - on - year [4][5][53]. 3.5 Stainless - steel Market 3.5.1 Price - Most stainless - steel spot prices fell last month, and the spot premium increased by 50 yuan per ton to 525 yuan per ton [65][66]. 3.5.2 Inventory - Warehouse receipt inventory decreased by 11,979 tons to 168,000 tons month - on - month; the total social inventory of 89 stainless - steel warehouses in the national mainstream market decreased by 8,481 tons to 1,078,000 tons week - on - week, with the 300 - series decreasing by 21,476 tons to 701,470 tons [65][70]. 3.5.3 Supply - According to Steel Union statistics, two 300 - series steel mills reduced production to varying degrees this month, expected to affect April's output by about 40,000 tons [65]. 3.5.4 Cost and Profit - The finished - product prices were lackluster, and raw - material prices showed mixed trends [65]. 3.5.5 Consumption - According to the latest production scheduling report of three major white - goods released by Industry Online, the total scheduled production of air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines in May 2024 was 37.75 million units, a 15.2% increase compared to the actual production in the same period last year, and the industry continued to grow at a high speed [65][90][94]. 3.5.6 Supply - demand Balance - Production cuts reduced the pressure of inventory accumulation [65][99].