【SMM Analysis】Anode Material Prices Remained Stable This Week

SMM April 24 News:

This week, the price of artificial graphite remained relatively stable. On the supply and demand front, market demand lacked upward momentum, and the production schedules of downstream battery cell manufacturers showed no significant increase compared to last week. The overall operating rate of the anode market maintained last week's level. Cost side, the price trends of various raw materials diverged, and the supply-demand and cost game in the graphitisation tolling services market continued, with prices remaining deadlocked. The price of raw material coke declined due to weak purchasing enthusiasm for anodes and cathodes. Considering the comprehensive cost calculation of various raw materials, the production cost of anode materials decreased this week. However, given that the raw materials currently used in the production of artificial graphite anodes were mostly purchased at high prices earlier, the price of artificial graphite remained firm under cost support. Looking ahead to next week, the price trend of artificial graphite will continue to be affected by tariff policies, which will somewhat restrain the demand expansion pace of downstream battery cell manufacturers. The strong momentum of the domestic new energy market is expected to offset some of the negative effects brought by tariffs, effectively supplementing market demand. Therefore, under the combined effect of a relatively stable supply-demand relationship and cost support, the price of artificial graphite is expected to remain stable in the short term.

This week, the price of natural graphite anode materials continued to remain stable. On the supply and demand front, the overall market performance was steady, with no significant changes in either the purchasing scale on the demand side or the shipments on the supply side compared to last week, maintaining a relatively stable market operation. Cost side, there were no significant fluctuations in the prices of upstream raw materials this week. Looking ahead, affected by tariff policies, downstream demand may decline, and the price of natural graphite anode materials is expected to face downward pressure.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Cong Wang 021-51666838

Rui Ma 021-51595780

Disheng Feng 021-51666714

Yanlin Lyu 021-20707875

Zhicheng Zhou 021-51666711

Haohan Zhang 021-51666752

Zihan Wang 021-51666914

Jie Wang 021-51595902

Yang Xu 021-51666760

Mengqi Xu 021-20707868