Pessimism Prevails in August Nickel Market, Steel Mills Show Weak Purchase Interest

In H1 2026, China's sulphur market experienced a full transmission chain of "import crash—production under pressure—export stagnation," with key data as follows: Imports: Natural sulphur imports fell from 497,200 mt in January to 147,000 mt in June, and on a combined basis of natural sulphur and refined sulphur, they were down approximately 57.7% YoY, with the share of Middle Eastern sources dropping from nearly 40% to 5%; Production: From January to May, national sulphuric acid production fell 1.6% YoY, with significant declines in Hubei, Guizhou, Yunnan and other traditional phosphate fertiliser production areas, while Anhui and other areas with concentrated smelting acid production grew against the trend; Exports: Sulphuric acid exports nearly fell to zero in June, with approximately 100,000-150,000 mt of export resources per month flowing back to the domestic market; Prices: Sulphur prices soared from 4,180 yuan/mt at the start of the year to a peak of 10,353.5 yuan/mt in June, while the copper smelting acid index rose by about 92% from the beginning of the year.

[SMM Nickel Flash] As of July 23, the SMM high-grade NPI market sentiment factor was 2.03, flat MoM; the high-grade NPI upstream sentiment factor was 2.09, flat MoM; and the high-grade NPI downstream sentiment factor was 1.96, flat MoM. Today, the stalemate in the spot market for high-grade NPI continued, with upstream and downstream price expectations remaining misaligned, and spot transactions remained sluggish.

EcoPro announced on July 23 that it held an autoclave delivery ceremony on July 22 at the construction site of the BNSI smelter in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The BNSI smelter, with an annual capacity of 90,000 mt, will be equipped with three autoclaves, each with a capacity of 30,000 mt. Two autoclaves have been delivered, while the remaining one is scheduled to arrive in September. Nickel produced at the site will be classified as a Non-FEOC raw material that can comply with Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) regulations. Following its existing IMIP project, EcoPro will secure nickel offtake rights totaling 65,000 mt through this investment.