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降息预期摇摆,镍价震荡
Tong Guan Jin Yuan Qi Huo·2025-08-18 02:52
  1. Report Industry Investment Rating No relevant content provided. 2. Core Views of the Report - Macro aspect: During the reporting period, macro expectations fluctuated. At the beginning of the week, the market's expectation of three Fed rate cuts within the year significantly increased, with a potential rate cut of up to 175bp by the end of 2026. However, after the PPI data was released at the end of the week, the market reversed its assessment of inflation risks, and Fed officials released hawkish statements, leading to repeated macro expectations [3]. - Fundamental aspect: Overseas nickel ore supply is becoming more abundant, but there are no obvious signs of price decline. Ferronickel prices are rising, and ferronickel plant profits are recovering. However, stainless steel lacks upward momentum, and resource circulation is poor, resulting in weak ferronickel consumption. The nickel sulfate market remains hot, but terminal consumption is weak, and the sustainability of the market's heat is questionable. The spot market for pure nickel is sluggish, with strong downstream wait - and - see sentiment, and stable fluctuations in premiums and discounts [3]. - Future outlook: High inflation and weak employment may lead to repeated swings in rate - cut expectations, causing nickel prices to fluctuate. High tariffs are increasing upstream inflation pressure, and rising PPI may be transmitted to CPI. At the same time, weak non - farm data and rising unemployment may slow down total demand. The market's expectations for Fed monetary policy may swing between inflation control and employment stability. In the industry, stainless steel prices are falling after a rise, and new energy vehicle consumption growth has turned negative. Supply is expected to be stable, and there is an expectation of a weakening in the ore end, but it has not materialized. Overall, nickel prices will fluctuate under macro - level drivers [3][11]. 3. Summary According to Relevant Catalogs 3.1 Market Review - Macro: As of August 9, the initial jobless claims were 224,000, lower than the expected 228,000. The US PPI annual rate in July was 3.3%, higher than the expected 2.5%. The monthly PPI in July increased by 0.9%, much higher than the expected 0.2%. At the beginning of the week, the US Treasury Secretary's remarks boosted rate - cut expectations, while at the end of the week, hawkish statements were released due to inflation concerns [5]. - Nickel ore: The FOB price of 1.5% laterite nickel ore in the Philippines dropped from $51/wet ton to $50/wet ton, while the domestic FOB price of 1.5% laterite nickel ore in Indonesia rose from $37.55/wet ton to $37.75/wet ton. Although the supply of nickel ore is expected to be more abundant, the price of Indonesian nickel ore remains firm [5]. - Pure nickel: In July, domestic monthly production capacity decreased slightly by 400 tons to 53,699 tons, while smelter production plans increased slightly month - on - month. In July, electrolytic nickel production was 32,800 tons, an increase of about 1,000 tons from the previous month, and the operating rate was 61.08%, up about 1.86 percentage points. In June, domestic electrolytic nickel exports decreased by 5.66% year - on - year and 3,830 tons month - on - month, while imports increased by 119.71% year - on - year. As of August 14, the export profit of nickel in China was - $6.68/ton. Overall, import resources are stable, but export profits are shrinking, and smelting supply remains high [6]. - Ferronickel: The price of high - nickel pig iron (10% - 12%) rose from 912 yuan/nickel point to 918.5 yuan/nickel point. In July, China's ferronickel production was about 24,540 metal tons, a month - on - month decrease of 0.44%. In June, domestic ferronickel imports were about 1.0414 million tons, a year - on - year increase of 50.05%. Imports from Indonesia were about 1.0177 million tons, a significant month - on - month increase. In July, Indonesia's ferronickel production was about 134,400 tons, a year - on - year increase of 28.14% and a month - on - month decrease of 1.73%. As of July 31, the physical ton inventory of ferronickel was 284,900 tons, an increase of about 31,000 tons from the previous period [7]. - Stainless steel: In July, the production plan for 300 - series stainless steel in China was about 1.74 million tons, an increase of about 15 tons compared to the same period last year and unchanged month - on - month. Although stainless steel prices have rebounded, downstream demand is weak, and holders are actively reducing prices to sell. The recovery space for ferronickel is limited due to weak consumption [8]. - Nickel sulfate: The price of battery - grade nickel sulfate rose from 27,440 yuan/ton to 27,530 yuan/ton, while the price of electroplating - grade nickel sulfate remained at 28,000 yuan/ton. In July, the metal output of nickel sulfate was about 29,084 tons, a year - on - year increase of 4.77% and a month - on - month increase of 17.3%. The output of ternary materials in July increased to about 68,600 tons, a year - on - year increase of 16.7% and a month - on - month increase of 5.8%. As of August 8, the downstream inventory days of nickel sulfate increased to 11 days, while the upstream inventory days remained at about 6 days. The spot market for nickel sulfate is hot, but price increases are mainly cost - driven, and production profitability remains negative overall [8]. - New energy: From August 1 - 10, the retail sales of the national passenger car market were 452,000 vehicles, a 4% year - on - year decrease and a 6% month - on - month increase. The retail sales of the national new energy passenger car market were 262,000 vehicles, a 6% year - on - year and month - on - month increase, with a retail penetration rate of 57.9%. The new energy market is also showing signs of weakness, and the consumption in August is facing high - base pressure. Although subsidy policies may boost consumption, the core driving force for consumption lies in employment and income [9]. - Inventory: The current total social inventory of pure nickel in six locations is 41,891 tons, a decrease of 1,319 tons from the previous period. The SHFE inventory is 22,141 tons, a month - on - month increase of 1,418 tons. The LME nickel inventory is 211,662 tons, a month - on - month decrease of 570 tons. The total inventory of the two major global exchanges is 233,803 tons, a month - on - month increase of 848 tons [10]. 3.2 Industry News - Winshear Gold Corp. has signed an option agreement for the Portsoy nickel - copper - cobalt project in Scotland. If the agreement is approved, Winshear will obtain 100% equity in the project, covering 250 square kilometers. Winshear promises to invest £3 million in 5 years and issue 6.5 million shares to Peak Nickel. Peak Nickel will retain a 1% NSR with a maximum limit of £10 million and may receive a 10% share of the proceeds if the project is acquired by a third party [12]. - Lifezone Metals has obtained a $60 million bridge loan for its Kabanga nickel project in Tanzania. The Kabanga project is one of the largest and highest - grade undeveloped nickel sulfide projects in the world, containing over 2 million tons of battery - grade metal resources and significant amounts of copper and cobalt [12]. - The nickel industry in Indonesia is facing multiple challenges, including regulatory pressure, ESG compliance requirements, and the need to increase downstream added value. Rising costs such as royalties, reclamation deposits, and the upcoming global minimum tax may force some smelters to shut down. The APNI has developed national ESG parameters by integrating 57 regulations from six ministries with international standards [12]. 3.3 Related Charts - The report provides multiple charts, including those showing the trends of domestic and international nickel prices, spot premiums and discounts, LME0 - 3 nickel premiums and discounts, nickel domestic - to - foreign ratios, nickel futures inventory, nickel ore port inventory, high - nickel iron prices, 300 - series stainless steel prices, and stainless steel inventory [14][16].