[SMM Analysis] Spot Costs Pulled Back Slightly, Nickel Salt Prices Declined

Published: May 21, 2026 12:00

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As of this Thursday, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate average price declined.

Demand side, as the month-end procurement period approached, some downstream enterprises began to inquire about prices, but due to the pullback in nickel prices, downstream acceptance of nickel salt prices declined. Supply side, as current MHP payables and auxiliary material prices stayed high, some producers had relatively high spot costs, and nickel salt quotations remained high. Looking ahead, the procurement period is approaching, and attention should be paid to the cost support from nickel prices and intermediate products for nickel salt prices.

Inventory side, this week the upstream nickel salt smelter inventory index fell from 8.2 days to 7.9 days, the downstream precursor plant inventory index declined from 9.6 days to 8.9 days, and the integrated enterprise inventory index stayed at 6.8 days. In terms of buying and selling strength, this week the upstream nickel salt smelter Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor remained at 2, the downstream precursor plant procurement sentiment factor remained at 2.5, and the integrated enterprise sentiment factor remained at 2.4. (Historical data can be accessed by logging into the database.)

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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