PRICING NOTICE: Fastmarkets launches nickel sulfate reference prices

Fastmarkets today, Thursday April 1, launches two new reference prices: nickel sulfate, cif China, Japan and Korea, $ per tonne; and nickel sulfate premium, cif China, Japan and Korea, $ per tonne.

The consultation for this price launch began on Monday March 1, 2021, and ended on Wednesday March 31, 2021.

The price specifications are as follows:

MB-NI-0246 Nickel sulfate, cif China, Japan and Korea, $ per tonne
Quality: Accepted by buyer for use in battery applications with chemical composition: Ni content, base 22.3% max, min 22%, cobalt 50ppm max
Quantity: 1 metric tonne
Location: cif main ports China, Japan, Korea (other ports normalized)
Timing: Within 60 days
Unit: US dollars per tonne
Publication: Monthly, first working day of each month, 4pm London time

MB-NI-0247 Nickel sulfate premium, cif China, Japan and Korea, $ per tonne
Quality: Accepted by buyer for use in battery applications with chemical composition: Ni content, base 22.3% max, min 22%, cobalt 50ppm max
Quantity: 1 metric tonne
Location: cif China, Japan and Korea, on top of monthly average LME nickel cash price
Timing: Within 60 days
Unit: US dollars per tonne
Publication: Monthly, first working day of each month, 4pm London time

If you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to these prices, please email Juliet Walsh at pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading ‘FAO: Juliet Walsh, re Nickel sulfate cif CJK $ per tonne, Nickel Sulfate premium cif CJK $ per tonne.’

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology.

What to read next
Technological advances, policy support and downstream decarbonization efforts are accelerating the shift toward lower-emission ferro-alloys in China. The industry, however, continues to grapple with the challenge of securing price premiums for green materials despite significant investments in new smelting technologies and sustainable supply chains.
Fastmarkets launched three new rare earth prices on Thursday March 19 to cover the global market outside of China to improve transparency in the rare earths magnet supply chain.
The global tungsten market in 2026 is marked by extreme volatility driven by geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, and resource nationalism, especially between China and the US. These dynamics have caused significant supply disruptions and price surges across tungsten products.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ AG-PLM-0019 Refined bleached deodorised (RBD) palm olein assessment for March 16 was delayed due to a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
Chinese lead smelters turned more bearish on the procurement of raw materials in the week to Friday February 13, amid heightened price volatility in silver, which is often contained in lead ores as an important by-product and contributor to smelter profits, sources told Fastmarkets.
The outbreak of conflict between the US, Israel and Iran on February 28 has brought shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to a near halt, disrupting China’s steel exports to a region that accounted for 14% of its total finished steel export volume in 2025.