SMM Nickel Flash: NPI Prices Drop, Market Sees Thin Trading and Supply-Demand Tug-of-War

Published: Jul 17, 2026 18:01

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[SMM Nickel Flash] The SMM high-grade NPI (10-12%) average price fell 3.1 yuan/nickel unit WoW to 1,129.4 yuan/nickel unit (ex-factory, tax included), while the Indonesian NPI FOB index average price slipped 0.47 $/nickel unit WoW to 145.76 $/nickel unit. This week, the high-grade NPI spot market was in a deep supply-demand tug-of-war throughout, with the divergence between bullish and bearish expectations continuing to widen. Overall trading was thin, and volume-based fixed-price purchases by steel mills were absent.

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