[SMM Nickel Flash] Supply side, the center of upstream offers continued to decline, with some traders continuously lowering their intended prices. Demand side, the market remained relatively sluggish, and the price spread between high- and low-grade NPI continued to widen. Overall, consumption was relatively weak, and high-grade NPI prices maintained a slight downward trend.

[SMM Daily Comment: Weak End-User Demand Weighed on Prices, High-Grade NPI Continued to Drop Slightly] April 8 — The SMM high-grade NPI upstream sentiment index stood at 2.74, up 0.02 MoM, while the high-grade NPI downstream sentiment index stood at 1.49, flat MoM.

[SMM Nickel Flash News] Based on the cash cost of high-grade NPI calculated using nickel ore prices from 25 days earlier, profits at high-grade NPI smelters came under pressure during the week, with the sector as a whole remaining in a state of losses or marginal profitability. It is expected that next week, prices of auxiliary materials on the raw material side may remain flat, while the decline in nickel ore prices will likely be limited. High-grade NPI prices will still be under pressure amid back-and-forth negotiations between upstream and downstream, and smelter profits will be unlikely to see any significant improvement.

[SMM Nickel Flash] This week, the price center of refined nickel moved lower, while high-grade NPI prices remained stable. The average discount of high-grade NPI against refined nickel narrowed to 262.4 yuan/nickel unit. High-grade NPI prices were expected to remain under pressure next week, while refined nickel prices were expected to continue their downward trend. The average discount of high-grade NPI against refined nickel was expected to continue narrowing, and the driver for conversion of NPI to high-grade nickel matte weakened.

[SMM Nickel Flash] The average SMM price of 10-12% high-grade NPI fell WoW by 1 yuan/nickel unit to 1,082.5 yuan/nickel unit (ex-factory, tax included), while the average price of Indonesia's NPI FOB index fell WoW by $0.02/nickel unit to $136.58/nickel unit. The high-grade NPI market generally remained stable, and after the transaction center stabilized, the market entered a state of back-and-forth negotiations between upstream and downstream, with prices under pressure in the short term.

This week, stainless steel spot prices fell slightly more than production costs, further worsening the inversion between stainless steel mill prices and costs. Taking 304 cold-rolled products as an example, based on raw material prices on the day, the full cost profit margin was -1.19% this week; calculated based on raw material inventory costs, the margin was -0.55%. Nickel-series raw material costs, high-grade NPI prices remained in the doldrums this week. Although nickel ore prices are currently holding firm and NPI traders are broadly bullish, SHFE nickel futures have been weak recently, while downstream stainless steel prices have struggled to rise. Stainless steel mills themselves are under heavy cost pressure and have shown low acceptance of high-priced raw materials, resulting in sparse market transactions recently; affected by this, high-grade NPI traders have faced considerable transaction pressure, and the price center edged lower slightly. As of this Friday, high-grade NPI with a grade of 10-12% fell by 2 yuan per nickel unit to 1,081.5 yuan/nickel unit. Stainless steel scrap market, stainless steel scrap prices were stable this week, and the decline in finished stainless steel prices did not transmit to the steel scrap market, while prices of substitute furnace charge also remained stable. Tightness in tax invoices eased, the economic advantage of steel scrap became more evident, and high stainless steel mill production schedules drove higher consumption, lifting market transactions and easing inventory pressure. However, finished product prices struggled to rise, limiting upside room for steel scrap prices, which are expected to remain stable in the short term. As of this Friday, the price of 304 off-cuts in Shanghai rose by 100 yuan/mt, with the latest quote at around 10,150 yuan/mt. Chrome-series raw material costs, high-carbon ferrochrome prices dropped back slightly this week. Although some ferrochrome producers recently reported maintenance and production cuts, and stainless steel production schedules for April remained high, leaving retail spot supply in the ferrochrome market relatively tight, stainless steel mills had built relatively ample ferrochrome raw material inventories earlier. Meanwhile, high port inventories of chrome ore recently caused some loosening in chrome ore spot prices. In addition, ferrochrome capacity has already reached a high level, the rainy season in south China is approaching, and ferrochrome producers outside China are resuming production. With ferrochrome producers lacking confidence in the outlook, ferrochrome prices still faced some downward pressure. As of this Friday, high-carbon ferrochrome prices in Inner Mongolia fell 25 yuan/mt (50% metal content) WoW to 8,625 yuan/mt (50% metal content).

[Downstream Enterprises Purchased as Needed, and Spot Transactions Were Average]: This week, Ningbo spot premiums continued to rise, with the weekly average price up 20 yuan/mt WoW. As of this Friday, Ningbo spot prices against the 2605 contract were quoted at a discount of 30 yuan/mt to a discount of 20 yuan/mt, with a premium of 40 yuan/mt against Shanghai.

[SMM Nickel Flash] April 1 News, Supply side, under pressure from both upstream and downstream, quotations from smelters and traders were basically flat. Demand side, buying interest from downstream steel mills remained weak, and market demand was limited. Overall, with high upstream costs and end-use product prices struggling to match, high-grade NPI prices remained in stalemate.

[SMM Daily Review: Upstream Costs and Downstream Selling Prices Remained Difficult to Match, High-Grade NPI Prices Stayed in a Stalemate] April 1 News: SMM's upstream sentiment factor for high-grade NPI was 2.71, down 0.07 MoM, while the downstream sentiment factor for high-grade NPI was 1.5, down 0.04 MoM.

Yieh United Steel Corp. announced further price increases for April 2026, marking its fifth consecutive monthly hike since December 2025. The mill raised surcharges for 304 and 316L series by NT$4,000/ton, while the 430 series rose by NT$1,500/ton. The cumulative growth for 304 products has now reached NT$19,500 over five months. These adjustments are driven by soaring energy costs amid Middle East tensions and tight supplies of ferrochrome and scrap. Additionally, potential Indonesian nickel export duties and stricter ore controls have pushed NPI prices higher. Combined with TWD exchange rate volatility, these factors necessitated the hike to offset rising production expenses.