[SMM Analysis] Ternary Cathode Trading Sentiment Recovered This Week

This week, ternary cathode material prices were lowered. Raw material side, nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate showed a slight downward trend, manganese sulphate edged up, while lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide saw significant pullbacks.

Sentiment side, after a month of continuous rise, ternary cathode material prices experienced a pullback, creating pricing opportunities for producers, and some battery cell manufacturers restocked. Discount side, the EV market overall continued to maintain existing discount levels, and discounts are expected to remain stable in June. Consumer market side, due to high spot order trading volume and significant price fluctuations, some producers expect the discount for nickel sulphate in cathode materials to be raised next month. This is mainly because nickel sulphate production costs stay high, upstream enterprises are pushing for price increases due to cost pressure, and the price increases have gradually been passed through to downstream.

Demand side, China's EV market is currently in a phase of concentrated stockpiling for new car models, with orders recovering notably; markets outside China, driven by strong performance in the European auto market and stockpiling for new product launches by some brands, also saw robust demand, jointly driving order growth for cathode plants in China. Consumer market demand overall remained mediocre, mostly reflecting rigid restocking needs of producers. Overall, total ternary market demand is expected to remain at a relatively high level in June.