[SMM Analysis] Market Analysis of Ternary Cathode Material in the Fourth Week of December

This week, the prices of ternary cathode materials rose slightly, with the price increases of 6-series and 8-series ternary materials being more pronounced compared to 5-series. On the raw material side, the prices of metal sulphates showed no significant changes WoW. For lithium chemicals, lithium carbonate prices stopped declining and rebounded slightly this week, while lithium hydroxide prices continued their slight upward trend. As a result, the metal material costs of 5-, 6-, and 8-series ternary materials all increased, with the cost rise being more evident for high-nickel models due to the larger price increase in lithium hydroxide.

In terms of ternary material production, the operating rates of domestic top-tier ternary material producers in December remained high, while reductions and production halts were more evident among small and medium-sized ternary material producers. Looking ahead to January, the production schedules of top-tier ternary material enterprises are expected to remain at high levels, driven by battery producers' expectations for a rush for power battery installations and exports. Some ternary material producers are seeing a continued upward trend in January orders compared to the current level. However, due to the Chinese New Year break and the ongoing reductions by small and medium-sized ternary material producers, the total production of ternary materials in January is expected to decline slightly compared to December. On the demand side, downstream battery producers' demand remains robust at year-end. The expected decline in January production schedules for power battery producers is also relatively small, and market activity remains high.