Indonesian Nickel Ore Prices Stable

This week, the market was influenced by a mix of bullish and bearish factors, with recovering macro sentiment and persistent inventory accumulation jointly driving nickel prices to fluctuate downward. The most-traded SHFE nickel contract opened the week at 122,150 yuan/mt, then came under pressure and pulled back, closing at 120,590 yuan/mt on Friday, down 1.14% WoW. LME nickel started the week at $15,370/mt, edged up initially due to improved overseas macro sentiment, but later retreated under fundamental pressure, with the latest quote at $15,200/mt, down 0.85% WoW. In the spot market, the average price of SMM #1 refined nickel this week was 122,250 yuan/mt, down 950 yuan/mt WoW. The average premium for Jinchuan nickel this week was 2,400 yuan/mt, down 100 yuan/mt WoW. The premiums and discounts for mainstream domestic electrodeposited nickel brands ranged from -200 to 100 yuan/mt, weakening WoW. As futures prices remained low this week, downstream point-price purchasing sentiment was relatively high.

[SMM Daily Review: High-Grade NPI Prices Expected to Continue Falling as Traditional Off-Season Approaches and Wait-and-See Sentiment Intensifies] October 31 – The average price of SMM 10-12% high-grade NPI was 924 yuan/mtu (ex-factory, tax included), down 0.5 yuan/mtu MoM from the previous working day.

Nickel Intermediate Products Were Affected by Both Policies and Supply-Demand, and Their Prices Rose This Week.

As of now, the FOB price of Indonesian MHP nickel is $13,422/mt Ni, and the FOB price of Indonesian MHP cobalt is $41,302/mt Co. The FOB price of Indonesian high-grade nickel matte is 13,711 yuan/mt Ni.

[SMM Analysis] The Dual Game of Cost and Supply-Demand: Where Will High-Grade NPI Prices Head in Q4 2025? Recently, the domestic NPI market showed a game between supply and demand sides, with prices fluctuating downward. Upstream cost support gradually strengthened, keeping quotations stable, while downstream demand side exhibited strong wait-and-see sentiment with a lack of mainstream transaction guidance. SMM analyzes as follows based on current market prices, inventory, supply-demand, and costs:

Nickel sulphate transactions were relatively mediocre, and nickel salt prices remained flat WoW.