[SMM Daily Review of Nickel Sulphate] March 17, Trading Sentiment Was Relatively Weak, and Nickel Salt Prices Remained Stable

Published: Mar 17, 2026 11:47
On March 17, the SMM average price of battery-grade nickel sulphate remained unchanged.

On March 17, the SMM average price of battery-grade nickel sulphate was flat.

Cost side, the US dollar index and oil prices pulled back slightly yesterday, while nickel prices rebounded, leading to a slight increase in the immediate production cost of nickel sulphate; Supply side, MHP payables have recently shown an upward trend, and nickel salt smelters raised their offers as raw material costs increased; Demand side, some producers have recently made purchases, but as downstream orders remained unclear and cost pass-through was sluggish, they still mainly took a wait-and-see stance toward high-priced nickel salts. Today, the upstream nickel salt smelter Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor was 1.8, the downstream precursor plant purchasing sentiment factor was 2.7, and the integrated enterprise sentiment factor was 2.3 (historical data is available in the database).

Looking ahead, market buying and selling sentiment in March is expected to rebound, and attention should be paid to the support for nickel sulphate prices from nickel prices and intermediate product supply on the cost side.

[For more, please subscribe to the SMM Nickel Research Group products China Nickel-Chrome-Stainless Steel Industry Chain Regular Report and China Nickel-Chrome-Stainless Steel Industry Chain High-End Report for the latest data analysis and market insights on nickel ore, NPI (China + Indonesia), refined nickel, nickel sulphate, chrome ore, ferrochrome, and stainless steel (China + Indonesia)!]


 

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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[SMM Daily Review of Nickel Sulphate] March 17, Trading Sentiment Was Relatively Weak, and Nickel Salt Prices Remained Stable - Shanghai Metals Market (SMM)