SMM June 18 News:
This week, electrolyte market prices were stable, with average prices for ternary power battery electrolyte, LFP electrolyte, and LMO electrolyte at 29,350 yuan/mt, 27,600 yuan/mt, and 21,900 yuan/mt, respectively. Cost side, affected by lithium carbonate moving sideways with a downward bias this week, lithium fluoride prices weakened. Weakening cost support, combined with electrolyte producers strictly controlling raw material costs and showing limited willingness to accept high prices, pushed LiPF6 transaction prices further down. In the solvent segment, upstream petrochemical price pullback weakened cost support, causing some solvent prices to edge down. In the additive segment, impacted by a sudden disruptive event, shipments of certain VC producers were affected. Coupled with the industry’s overall inventory already at a low level earlier, this resulted in tight supply, noticeably strengthened downstream purchase inquiry willingness, and strong sentiment for price hikes among producers, driving VC prices up. Overall, however, on one hand, with the month at its midpoint, purchasing demand was sluggish, with only sporadic just-in-time procurement and relatively small order sizes, limiting the impact of raw material changes on electrolyte production costs. On the other hand, a time lag in price transmission along the industry chain meant that upstream raw material price changes had not yet been fully passed on to finished electrolyte products. As a result, electrolyte market prices remained stable this week. Supply-demand pattern, the gradual release of orders for new EV models is continuously strengthening expectations of demand rise. Meanwhile, solid rigid demand in the ESS sector has jointly pushed downstream battery cell production schedules upward, driving synchronous growth in electrolyte production. Overall, the future price trend of electrolyte still needs continuous monitoring of raw material price fluctuations and their transmission.
SMM New Energy Research Team
Wang Cong 021-51666838
Ma Rui 021-51595780
Feng Disheng 021-51666714
Lü Yanlin 021-20707875
Xu Mengqi 021-20707868
Hu Xuejie 021-20707858
Chen Bolin 021-51666836
Wang Yizhou 021-51595909
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