This week, ternary cathode precursor prices moved lower, with nickel sulphate prices edging down, cobalt sulphate prices dropping sharply, and manganese sulphate prices slipping slightly during the week. On the discount front, for orders in August and Q3, some producers showed a willingness to cut discounts due to higher raw material costs of sulphates in the earlier period. For long-term contracts, some producers had already settled long-term agreements at the beginning of the year, and most producers' coefficients had not yet been cut. For quarterly contracts, downstream enterprises were also less receptive to discount cuts. Except for some top-tier producers that had certain bargaining power, most producers maintained stability overall compared with Q2. For spot orders, as nickel and cobalt salt prices had been relatively weak recently, some downstream enterprises turned to toll processing of raw materials. The order coefficient for August is expected to remain stable overall from July levels. On the production side, top-tier producers' export orders continued to perform well this month, with production schedules at relatively high levels. China's top-tier producers also saw a clear recovery in production loads, but some small and medium-sized producers still had relatively low production schedules due to the off-season. Looking ahead, sulphate prices have not yet shown a clear rebound. For subsequent new order prices, attention should be paid to the stockpiling pace of downstream enterprises in Q3.

As of now, the FOB price of Indonesian MHP nickel stands at $15,337/mt Ni, and the FOB price of Indonesian MHP cobalt stands at $49,106/mt Co. The MHP payables (against the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index) stand at 83-84, and the MHP cobalt payables (against SMM refined cobalt (Rotterdam warehouse)) stand at 91. The FOB price of Indonesian high-grade nickel matte stands at $15,765/mt Ni.

On August 6, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate average price remained stable.

SMM, August 6: Metal Markets: As of the midday close, base metals on the domestic market were almost all up. SHFE copper rose 0.4%, SHFE aluminum rose 0.23%. SHFE lead edged up. SHFE zinc rose 1.49%. SHFE tin rose 0.26%. SHFE nickel fell 2.1%. In addition, the most-traded casting aluminum futures contract edged down, while the most-traded alumina contract rose 1.36%. The most-traded lithium carbonate contract fell 1.23%. The most-traded silicon metal contract rose 0.12%. The most-traded polysilicon futures contract fell 0.65%. Ferrous metals were mostly in the green. Iron ore rose 2%, rebar rose 0.67%, and HRC rose 0.53%. Stainless steel fell 1.51%. For coking coal and coke: the most-traded coking coal contract rose 0.74%, and the most-traded coke contract rose 1.99%. On the overseas base metals market, as of 11:42, LME metals were almost all down. LME copper fell 0.36%, LME aluminum rose 0.17%, LME lead fell 0.16%, LME zinc fell 0.37%. LME tin fell 1.58%. LME nickel fell 1.9%. In precious metals, as of 11:42, COMEX gold rose 0.44%, while COMEX silver fell 0.05%. On the domestic precious metals market: SHFE gold rose 3.72%, and the most-traded SHFE silver contract rose 3.19%. Additionally, as of the midday close, the most-traded platinum futures contract rose 1.05%, and the most-traded palladium futures contract rose 1.4%. As of the midday close, the most-traded container shipping futures (Europe route) contract fell 0.63% to 1,651 points. As of 11:42 on August 6, selected futures midday prices: Spot and Fundamentals Copper: Today, spot #1 copper cathode in Guangdong against the front-month contract: high-quality copper was quoted at 90 yuan/mt, down 20 yuan/mt from the previous trading day; standard-quality copper was at a premium of 10 yuan/mt, down 20 yuan/mt; and SX-EW copper was at a discount of 50 yuan/mt, down 20 yuan/mt. The average price of #1 copper cathode in Guangdong was 107,900 yuan/mt, up 910 yuan/mt from the previous trading day, and that of SX-EW copper was 107,820 yuan/mt, up 930 yuan/mt. In the spot market: Guangdong inventory increased again, mainly due to increased arrivals and weakening consumption... Macro Front China: [PBOC’s open market operations saw a net drain of 269.5 billion yuan today] The PBOC conducted 1 billion yuan of 7-day reverse repo operations at an interest rate of 1.40%, unchanged from the previous operation. Today, 270.5 billion yuan of reverse repos matured. [China Gold Association: In H1 2026, increase in domestic gold ETF holdings fell 66.17% YoY] Data from the China Gold Association showed that the increase in domestic gold ETF holdings in H1 2026 was 28.677 mt, down 66.17% from H1 2025. By the end of June 2026, the open interest of gold ETFs in China stood at 276.529 mt. China increased its gold holdings by 40.12 mt in H1 2026, bringing its gold reserves to 2,346.45 mt by month-end June, ranking fifth globally. The country had added to its gold reserves for 20 consecutive months, Nov 2024-Jun 2026. (Jin10 Data APP) On August 6, the central parity rate of the RMB in the interbank foreign exchange market was 6.7895 yuan per US dollar. US Dollar: As of 11:42, the US dollar index edged up 0.03% to 99.72. Cooling US ADP employment data contrasted with elevated ISM services costs, raising stagflation concerns. US ADP employment data missed expectations! The US ADP private payrolls increased by only 44,000 in July, the lowest this year, making Friday's non-farm payrolls data critical. US ADP private-sector employment rose by just 44,000 in July, a new low for the year and below expectations. The goods-producing sector was under pressure, signaling a cooling labour market. However, job-stayers' wages saw robust YoY growth of 7%, indicating persistent structural tightness. The market is focused on Friday's non-farm payrolls data; if it follows the same trend, it would confirm steady employment, supporting the Fed's continued focus on combating inflation. The US ISM Services PMI continued expanding in July, showing demand-side resilience but intensifying stagflation risks. The US ISM services index rose to 54.1 in July, a 0.1-point uptick from June but below the expected 54.5. The new orders index surpassed expectations to hit 57.2, and the prices paid index exceeded forecasts to reach 70.3, while the employment index fell short of expectations, dropping to 47.4 and into contraction territory. Rising costs alongside contracting employment presented stagflationary characteristics. The US Treasury kept its quarterly debt issuance size unchanged, with $40 trillion in debt pressure looming. The latest Treasury refunding statement maintained current auction sizes for coupon-bearing securities but changed the description for future issuance from "increases" to "adjustments," preserving flexibility for future policy shifts. The borrowing estimate for the current quarter was raised to $739 billion, with the total federal debt about to surpass $40 trillion. The Treasury continues to rely on short-term bills to bridge the gap, making financing costs more sensitive to interest rates. The market fears that delaying adjustments could trigger a larger shock from long-term debt issuance later. (From Wall Street Horizon APP) Data: Today will see the release of Switzerland's July seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, the Eurozone's June retail sales MoM, US July Challenger job cuts, US initial jobless claims for the week ending August 1, US July Global Supply Chain Pressure Index, and US June wholesale sales MoM, among other data. To watch: Fed Governor Lisa Cook will speak on the economic outlook; 2027 FOMC voter and San Francisco Fed President Daly will deliver remarks. Crude Oil: As of 11:42, both benchmarks edged down, with US crude down 0.28% and Brent crude down 0.13%. The market is monitoring the progress of negotiations between Iran and Oman. Iran disclosed a new plan for Hormuz for the first time, saying the US had offered to talk but mere compliance with the deal was not enough to reopen the strait. Iran's deputy foreign minister said that arrangements concerning the strait should be decided solely by Iran and Oman through consultation, and Iran would never accept any external interference. Under the new arrangement, the current temporary shipping lanes in the strait will be closed, and a large number of vessels will be rerouted through Iranian territorial waters in the future. The report said that the proposed agreement with Oman grants Iran control over vessels entering the Strait of Hormuz, marking the biggest concession Iran has secured so far; Iran plans to charge a fee of 5%-7% of cargo value, while Oman has proposed a fee of about 3%, and the US opposes any charges. (From Wall Street Insights app) On August 5 local time, US President Trump said in a speech at an event in Las Vegas that oil prices had fallen recently and stabilized to some extent, "we may have to let it go up again," but he "hoped it wouldn't come to that." Trump did not elaborate on the meaning of this remark. An analysis by the Associated Press pointed out that although Trump has repeatedly promised that the war with Iran is about to end, oil prices usually rise again as conflicts between the two reignite. (CCTV International News) Spot Market Highlights: ► ► ► ► ► ► ►

[SMM Analysis] In H1 2026, global energy storage battery cell shipments reached 486 GWh. The power generation and grid side and industrial and commercial ESS remained the main demand sources. Top-tier players maintained their lead, while some enterprises saw significant improvements in market rankings. Meanwhile, shipments of large battery cells above 500Ah reached approximately 42 GWh, with product upsizing beginning to shift from introduction and verification to volume delivery. However, production ramp-up, manufacturing yield, quality control, and order coordination remain key constraints on volume growth. Looking ahead to H2, the energy storage battery cell market is expected to sustain high growth. The anticipated introduction of consumption tax and cancellation of export tax rebates may pull forward some demand and delivery pace. Industry competition will further shift toward product reliability, manufacturing stability, and sustained delivery capability.

Recently, the Central China headquarters of Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China officially settled in Optics Valley, and it is expected to be officially put into operation early next year. Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (Wuhan) Co., Ltd. completed registration on July 28, with a registered capital of 50 million yuan. Focusing on the R&D of core semiconductor equipment, the project plans to build the Central China headquarters and R&D center, conduct R&D on core semiconductor equipment such as thin film, etching, and epitaxy, and serve key clients in Wuhan and the broader Central China region.