镍月报：镍价探底回升，短期价格或已见底-20251205

1. Report Industry Investment Rating No relevant content provided. 2. Core Viewpoints of the Report - In November, due to the weakening expectation of the Fed's interest - rate cut and the prominent pressure on the nickel fundamentals, the nickel price broke through the platform and bottomed at around 115,000 yuan/ton. With the stabilization of the ferronickel price and the warming of the macro - atmosphere, the nickel price shifted to a volatile pattern. The report tends to believe that the short - term price has bottomed, but it is necessary to focus on the trends of ferronickel and ore prices. [11] - In the short - term, it is recommended to wait and see, or go long at low prices after the ferronickel price stabilizes and rebounds. The short - term operating range of Shanghai nickel is expected to be between 113,000 - 118,000 yuan/ton, and the operating range of the LME 3 - month nickel contract is expected to be between 13,500 - 15,500 US dollars/ton. [11] 3. Summary by Directory 3.1 Monthly Assessment and Strategy Recommendation - Resource end: In November, the nickel ore price remained stable overall. For pyrometallurgical ore, although the smelter's cost - price inversion intensified and the demand for ore weakened significantly, the bargaining power of ore merchants was strong, and the prices of pyrometallurgical ore in Indonesia and the Philippines did not decline significantly. For hydrometallurgical ore, the market was still relatively dull, and the price mainly remained stable. [11] - Ferronickel: In November, the terminal consumption was weak, and the negative feedback effect led to a continuous decline in the ferronickel price. As the downstream entered the traditional off - season, the stainless - steel terminal consumption was weak, the industry inventory was high, and many stainless - steel enterprises had production - cut plans at the end of the year, reducing the procurement demand for ferronickel. The ferronickel production profit is at an absolute low, and there is downstream procurement demand when the ferronickel price is around 880 yuan/nickel, so it is expected that the ferronickel price will gradually stabilize in the future. [11] - Intermediate products: In November, the overall transaction of intermediate products was average, but the coefficient price remained high under cost support. On the supply side, the sulfur price remained strong, and the sellers were more willing to hold prices. However, the demand for nickel sulfate weakened, and only some enterprises were preparing for raw material procurement in the first quarter of next year, resulting in a relatively cold overall market transaction. [11] - Refined nickel: In November, the nickel price was weak, hitting a new low and then rebounding slightly. As of December 4, the main contract of Shanghai nickel closed at 117,760 yuan/ton, a 1.62% decline from the same period last month, and the LME nickel was quoted at 14,885 US dollars/ton, a 1.16% decline from the same period last month. In the spot market, the spot price of refined nickel was stronger than the futures price, and the premium was generally strong. [11] 3.2 Futures and Spot Market - Futures price trend: In November, the nickel price was weak, hitting a new low and then rebounding slightly. As of December 4, the main contract of Shanghai nickel closed at 117,760 yuan/ton, a 1.62% decline from the same period last month, and the LME nickel was quoted at 14,885 US dollars/ton, a 1.16% decline from the same period last month. [17] - Nickel spot premium: The spot premium was stable and slightly strong. As of December 4, the average spot price of Russian nickel had a premium of 400 yuan/ton over the near - month contract, the same as last month, and the spot premium of Jinchuan nickel was reported at 5,000 yuan/ton, with the average price up 2,100 yuan/ton from the same period last month. [21] - Secondary nickel price: The decline of the ferronickel price slowed down. As of December 5, the ex - factory price of domestic high - nickel pig iron was reported at 879 - 884 yuan/nickel point, with the average price down 2 yuan/nickel point from the previous week. The nickel sulfate price declined slightly. As of December 5, the domestic spot price of nickel sulfate was reported at 27,460 - 27,600 yuan/ton, with the average price down 200 yuan/ton from the previous week. [24] 3.3 Cost End - Nickel ore: The nickel ore price remained stable. On December 5, the delivered price of 1.6% - grade Indonesian domestic laterite nickel ore was reported at 51.43 US dollars/wet ton, down 0.59 US dollars/wet ton from the previous week; the delivered price of 1.2% - grade Indonesian domestic laterite nickel ore was 23 US dollars/wet ton, the same as the previous week; and the CIF price of 1.5% - grade nickel ore produced in the Philippines was reported at 57 US dollars/ton, the same as the previous week. [33] 3.4 Refined Nickel - Supply: In November 2025, the national refined nickel output was 28,000 tons, a decrease of 33,000 tons compared with October. [48] - Demand: The report shows the data of domestic stainless - steel monthly output, social inventory, and the terminal demand of the manufacturing and real estate industries, but does not specifically summarize the demand situation. - Import and export: The report shows the data of domestic refined nickel import volume and import profit and loss, but does not specifically summarize the import - export situation. - Inventory: This week, the global visible nickel inventory increased by 2,382 tons to 308,476 tons. [57] - Cost: The report shows the data of domestic refined nickel production cost by raw material and production profit margin by process, but does not specifically summarize the cost situation. 3.5 Nickel Sulfate - Supply: The report shows the data of China's nickel sulfate output and net import volume, but does not specifically summarize the supply situation. - Demand: The report shows the data of ternary power battery loading volume and China's ternary precursor output, but does not specifically summarize the demand situation. - Cost and price: The report shows the data of battery - grade nickel sulfate production cost, price, and the production profit margin of main raw materials, but does not specifically summarize the cost - price situation. 3.6 Supply - Demand Balance - The report provides the global supply outlook and quarterly supply - demand balance forecast from 2019 - 2025. From 2023 - 2025, the overall supply of nickel exceeded the demand, with the supply - demand surpluses being 82,900 tons, 53,200 tons, and 126,600 tons respectively. [74]