[SMM Analysis] Month-end trading sentiment remained weak, and nickel salt prices declined this week.

Published: Jul 2, 2026 11:04

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

Demand side, on the one hand, nickel prices plummeted without obvious relief, undermining downstream stockpiling confidence. On the other hand, at the mid-year reporting period in June, downstream enterprises generally exhibited a strong willingness to control inventory, leading to inventory accumulation at some precursor enterprises. Stockpiling sentiment in July was weak, and acceptance of nickel salt prices was low. Supply side, while MHP payables and auxiliary material prices remained high, some producers maintained high quotes, but some producers were also releasing finished product inventories. Looking ahead, the expectation of tight nickel sulphate raw material supply has yet to improve, and attention should be paid to the cost support for nickel salt prices from nickel prices and intermediate products.

In terms of inventory, the upstream nickel salt smelter inventory index slid from 8.2 days to 9.7 days this week, the downstream precursor plant inventory index rose from 9.9 days to 12.3 days, and the integrated enterprise inventory index rose from 7 days to 8.1 days. Regarding buying and selling strength, the upstream nickel salt smelter's Willingness to Sell Sentiment Factor remained at 1.8, the downstream precursor plant's 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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