[SMM Analysis] Nickel Salt Prices Held Stable This Week as Trading Sentiment Weakened Approaching Chinese New Year

Published: Feb 12, 2026 13:38

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As of Thursday this week, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index stood at 31,635 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate between 31,400-32,500 yuan/mt, and the average price WoW remained flat.
Demand side, approaching Chinese New Year, logistics were constrained, and most producers had already stocked up on raw materials for the holiday, showing relatively low acceptance of high nickel sulphate prices, with only a few producers making purchases. Supply side, some producers suspended quotations due to impending production halts for the holiday, and overall market willingness to sell sentiment was weak. Looking ahead, the nickel sulphate market is expected to remain stable before the holiday, with a potential pickup in demand after the holiday resumption.
Inventory side, this week the upstream nickel salt smelter inventory index decreased from 4.7 days to 4.6 days, the downstream precursor plant inventory index rose from 9.1 days to 9 days, and the integrated enterprise inventory index held steady at 7.3 days. In terms of trading strength, the upstream nickel salt smelter willingness to sell sentiment factor dropped from 1.8 to 1.7 this week, while the downstream precursor plant purchase sentiment factor declined from 2.5 to 2.3. Overall market transaction sentiment remained weak before the holiday, with the integrated enterprise sentiment factor unchanged at 2.3. (Historical data available in the database.)

nickel sulphate Chinese New Year logistics inventory market sentiment

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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