[SMM Weekly Review] This week in the hydrometallurgical recycling market: LFP prices oscillated, while pure cobalt and ternary black mass prices continued to decline, 2026.8.24-2026.8.27.

SMM, August 27:

Raw material side, this week lithium carbonate and nickel sulphate prices fluctuated, while cobalt sulphate prices fell steadily. This week, by material type—ternary, LCO, and LFP—the LFP hydrometallurgy side: Taking LFP electrode black mass as an example, its current price is 6,600-7,000 yuan per % lithium, basically flat WoW from last Thursday's transaction. Meanwhile, the current price of LFP battery black mass is 5,700-6,300 yuan per % lithium, and its price spread with electrode black mass is gradually widening. For the ternary and LCO segments, the nickel and cobalt payables for ternary electrode black mass are around 75.5-77%, with some high-nickel ternary electrode black mass from 8-series and 9-series still trading at around 78%, but all showing a slight downtrend. The cobalt payables for LCO electrode black mass are 73-75%, and lithium payables are 72-75%. Currently, as secondary cobalt sulphate prices continue to decline, downstream LCO hydrometallurgy enterprises are very cautious in purchasing, resulting in sluggish market transactions. Moreover, for pure cobalt and high-cobalt black mass, the payables continue to be priced separately for cobalt and lithium, with current prices slightly lower than those for the ternary segment.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lyu Yanlin 021-20707875

Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711