This week, the solid-state battery sector gained significant momentum, with multiple domestic enterprises achieving key breakthroughs in environmental approvals, sample deliveries, and mass production, while overseas players in South Korea and the United States intensified technological competition. Across the industry chain—from cathode and anode materials, electrolytes, to battery cell manufacturing—progress advanced in parallel, marking a phase of intensive validation and capacity building for industrialisation.

The average price of high-grade NPI dropped by 4 yuan/mtu WoW to 881.3 yuan/mtu (ex-factory, tax included), while the Indonesian NPI FOB index price fell by $0.21/mtu WoW to $109.63/mtu.Entering December, as stainless steel and SHFE nickel futures prices rose, market sentiment recovered somewhat. At the same time, high-grade NPI smelters faced dual pressures from long-term contract negotiations and prices below cost lines, leading to clear efforts to hold prices firm. High-grade NPI prices gradually stabilized.

[SMM Analysis: Year-End Aluminum Billet Production Data Released, Will Production Cuts Be Unavoidable as Off-Season Deepens?] Mixed trends coexisted! Domestic aluminum billet supply-side operating rates remained generally stable in November, with final production figures meeting expectations. As the September-October peak season concluded, some aluminum billet enterprises planned ahead to switch production to aluminum bus bars, primary alloys, aluminum rods, and other products. Meanwhile, some group enterprises, affected by poor overall annual profitability, implemented marginal production cut adjustments in November, showing signs of supply contraction during the off-season. However, due to the better-than-expected performance of aluminum billet processing fees, particularly in South China, some billet plants in South-West China increased production accordingly. Coupled with the ramp-up of newly commissioned capacity in Q4, the domestic aluminum billet supply side achieved a temporary stable transition amid these mixed trends. The daily average production of primary aluminum billets in November pulled back slightly to around 50,000 mt/day, down MoM from October, in line with earlier expectations. However, SMM expects that as the off-season deepens in December and high aluminum prices further suppress processing fees and downstream demand...