New Round of RKAB Approval in October for Upcoming 2026? NPI Prices Keep Rising

The supply and demand of nickel intermediate products are tight, and prices continue to strengthen

At the beginning of this week, nickel prices continued the trend of rebounding slightly. The most-traded SHFE nickel contract (NI2509) reached a high of 123,000 yuan/mt, before prices pulled back significantly, closing at 120,600 yuan/mt on Friday, with a weekly decline of 1.2%. The latest LME nickel quote was $15,060/mt, with a weekly decline of 0.26%, and nickel prices were mainly in the doldrums this week. In the spot market, the average price of SMM #1 refined nickel this week was 123,000 yuan/mt, with a weekly decline of 450 yuan/mt. The premium of Jinchuan nickel fluctuated between 2,000-2,300 yuan/mt this week, while the premium range of domestic mainstream electrodeposited nickel remained at -100-300 yuan/mt this week. Spot transactions were sluggish, with fewer downstream orders for alloy electroplating, lower purchase willingness, and a significant accumulation of refined nickel inventory among traders.

Philippine nickel ore prices held steady this week, while NPI prices continued to rise. The Indonesian nickel ore market saw stable transactions this week, with the new annual RKAB quota to commence in October.

On August 15, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 27,331 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate being 27,300-27,790 yuan/mt, and the average price increased compared to yesterday.

As of now, the FOB price of Indonesian MHP nickel is $12,684/mt Co, and the FOB price of Indonesian MHP cobalt is $21,362/mt Co.

[SMM Daily Review: Cost Support Continues to Drive Up Prices of High-grade NPI] On August 14, the average price of SMM 10-12% high-grade NPI was 924.5 yuan/mtu (ex-factory, tax included), up 1.5 yuan/mtu from the previous working day.

As of now, the FOB price of Indonesian MHP nickel is $12,701/mt Ni, and the FOB price of Indonesian MHP cobalt is $21,340/mt Co.