Indonesian Nickel Ore Market Relatively Flat as Demand Remains Subdued, NPI Keeps Rising

This week, nickel prices fell amid macro pressures from a stronger US dollar and a weak fundamental backdrop, with market sentiment being cautious. The most-traded SHFE nickel 2510 contract declined this week, closing at 119,610 yuan/mt on Friday, down 0.48% for the day and 0.99% over the past five trading days. LME nickel prices also weakened, with the latest quote at $14,940/mt, down 1.74% WoW. In the spot market, the average price of SMM #1 refined nickel was 121,170 yuan/mt this week, down 950 yuan/mt WoW. The premium for Jinchuan nickel fluctuated significantly, with the average premium increasing by 400 yuan/mt WoW. Traders showed strong reluctance to budge on prices, and the premium range for mainstream electrodeposited nickel remained at -100-300 yuan/mt this week. Meanwhile, due to the decline in futures prices, downstream procurement volume increased this week.

Nickel Intermediate Product Market Tight, Payable Indicator Generally Strengthened

On August 22, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 27,433 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 27,450-27,790 yuan/mt. The average price remained unchanged from yesterday.

[SMM Daily Review: High-Grade NPI Prices Stable, Yet Fundamental Support Weak] On August 21, the SMM 10-12% high-grade NPI average price was 928 yuan/mtu (ex-factory, tax included), up 0.5 yuan/mtu from the previous working day.

So far, the FOB price of nickel MHP from Indonesia is $12,679/mt Ni, and the FOB price of cobalt MHP from Indonesia is $21,410/mt Co.

Spot nickel sulphate supply remained tight, and nickel sulphate prices continued to rise this week.

According to the latest data from China Customs, China's total nickel matte imports in July 2025 were 36,033 mt in physical content, up 60% MoM and down 34% YoY.