This week, ternary material prices continued to decline. On the raw material side, nickel sulfate prices weakened slightly, cobalt sulfate prices fell markedly again, while lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices saw their declines gradually narrow after a sharp drop early in the week, showing signs of stabilization at low levels, jointly dragging ternary material prices lower. In terms of transactions, as lithium salt prices had already fallen to relatively low levels, some cell makers with restocking needs made certain purchases this week, and spot trading sentiment is expected to improve.
On the demand side, leading ternary cell makers have recently cut their orders for September and the fourth quarter sharply, with medium- and high-nickel material orders particularly affected, mainly because sales of some domestic high-end vehicle models fell short of expectations. Given their sufficient raw material inventories, cell makers proactively slowed their pickup pace; coupled with the accumulation of finished goods inventories at cathode makers in the earlier stage, cathode makers are likely to prioritize inventory consumption and hold off on new production in the near term, dragging down domestic ternary cathode production schedules for September. In terms of overseas demand, influenced by expectations that export controls on lithium batteries will soon be reinstated, orders for high-nickel materials remained at elevated levels recently.
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