Transportation costs are high, and cobalt and nickel prices are rising

       Since most ceramic producing areas have switched to natural gas, the attention to crude oil and spot oil prices is also a general understanding of energy cost trends in the ceramic industry. Of course, the current epidemic superimposed demand is weak, and the entire market demand is still hovering at a low point. Since the beginning of this year, major institutions around the world have frequently lowered their forecasts for crude oil demand. The biggest uncertainty is the follow-up interpretation of the supply side. At present, geopolitical risks are still the main factor affecting oil prices. Due to the gradual recovery of some cities and the increase in travel, gasoline demand has risen, and diesel demand has risen. On the other hand, the price of refined oil has risen, and the price of refined oil is expected to rise slightly in the later period due to the support of crude oil prices. For the already very high oil price, the logistics cost of ceramic enterprises' outbound transportation demand has increased significantly.



Looking at non-ferrous metals, the international cobalt price fluctuated and rose, and the price difference between domestic and foreign increased; Shanghai Tesla and other key enterprises have begun to resume work and production stress tests, new energy vehicle factories are about to resume work, the installed capacity of ternary batteries is expected to rise, and the cobalt market is expected to rise. Demand is expected to pick up, and the cobalt market has increased momentum. South Africa has been hindered by heavy rain and floods, and the supply of cobalt mines is expected to be limited in the future, and the rising momentum of the cobalt market has increased. Affected by the European energy crisis, European zinc smelters are expected to reduce production, the supply of zinc in the zinc market is expected to decline, the European zinc inventory is extremely low, and the overseas tight supply situation is difficult to change; the domestic logistics and transportation are not smooth, the domestic zinc downstream enterprises start to decline, and the zinc downstream customers The fear of heights is strong, the demand in the zinc market is declining, the recent policy of ensuring supply and smooth, resumption of work and production has been carried out in an orderly manner, the domestic control policy has been adjusted, the resumption of downstream work has been accelerated, the production of enterprises is expected to improve, and the downstream demand is expected to improve, stimulating domestic zinc prices to rise.



Judging from the past situation, there will usually be a wave of non-ferrous materials after May, mainly because various industries basically enter a peak period of annual production after May. The price of nickel oxide has recovered from the high range of 220,000 in March to the current range of 180,000 per ton, and it is difficult to return to the previous price range of 100,000 in a short period of time. For the commonly used ceramic raw materials such as cobalt oxide and zinc oxide, it is likely to enter the price increase channel again in the middle of the year. Even if the current market demand is weak, the material price and the manufacturer's pricing strategy are adjusted at any time. For commonly used ceramic materials Non-ferrous metal raw material enterprises should stock up properly after May Day to prevent losses due to excessive fluctuations in raw material prices.