[SMM Analysis] Market Activity Showed No Significant Recovery at Month-end; Nickel Sulphate Prices Slipped This Week

Published: Aug 27, 2026 16:21

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This week, ternary cathode precursor prices weakened. During the week, nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate prices declined, while manganese sulphate prices held steady.

In terms of discounts, for September and Q3 orders, some producers still held intentions to hold prices firm due to high earlier sulphate raw material costs. Regarding long-term contracts, some producers' long-term agreements were settled at the beginning of the year. For most producers, the coefficient had not been raised yet. For quarterly orders, downstream acceptance of coefficient increases was also weak. Except for some top-tier producers having a certain degree of pricing power, the overall situation for most producers remained stable compared to Q2. For spot orders, as recent nickel and cobalt salt prices have been relatively weak, some downstream enterprises sought raw material toll processing or expanded in-house production scale, and the coefficient for September orders remained under pressure.

In production, top-tier producers' export orders performed well again this month, and September production schedules are expected to be at high levels. Domestic top-tier producers also reported high production loads, but some small and medium-sized producers have not yet benefited from the peak season, leaving September and October production schedule expectations weak.

Looking ahead, sulphate prices have not shown a clear rebound. Prices for subsequent new orders will need to track actual downstream demand during the September-October peak season.

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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