[SMM Analysis] China's medium-nickel demand is expected to pull back, precursor prices decline

Published: Sep 3, 2026 13:31

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This week, ternary cathode precursor prices weakened, with nickel sulphate prices declining during the week, while cobalt sulphate and manganese sulphate prices remained stable.

On discounts, for September and Q3 orders, some producers still intend to hold prices firm due to the higher cost of sulphate raw materials in the earlier period. For long-term contracts, some producers had already agreed on annual contracts at the beginning of the year, and most producers have not yet raised their coefficients. Downstream enterprises are also showing weak acceptance of coefficient increases for quarterly orders. Except for some top-tier producers with certain bargaining power, most producers kept coefficients broadly stable compared with Q2. For spot orders, as nickel and cobalt salt prices have been relatively weak recently, some downstream enterprises are seeking raw material toll processing or expanding in-house production, and September order coefficients remain under pressure.

On production, top-tier producers continued to see strong export orders this month, with production schedules at relatively high levels. Some domestic top-tier producers have expectations of reduced medium-nickel orders, and their production schedules have been lowered. Some other small and medium-sized producers still have relatively low production schedules due to the off-season.

Looking ahead, sulphate prices have yet to show a clear rebound, and new order prices will need to focus on actual downstream demand during the September-October peak season.

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