High-Purity Manganese Sulphate Enterprises Reduce or Suspend Production Intensively in January, and the Price Trend is in a Stalemate

SHANGHAI, Feb 15 (SMM)－In January, the supply and demand of battery-grade manganese sulphate both contracted, and the prices were stable with occasional falls. The monthly average price of spot battery-grade manganese sulphate stood at 6,475 yuan/mt in January, slightly lower than the average price of 6,484 yuan/mt in December 2022. Demand in the first quarter of 2023 was released ahead of schedule due to the CNY holiday and the cancellation of NEV subsidies.  Most ternary precursor companies reduced or suspended production intensively, weakening the demand for high-purity manganese sulphate. According to SMM research, downstream companies’ delivery of long-term orders at the mainstream manganese salt factories was not satisfactory, so many manganese sulphate companies ceased their production for about 15-20 days for maintenance before the CNY. As a result, Chinese high-purity manganese sulphate output dipped 46.97% MoM to around 14,000 mt in January.

In February, the power battery market at home and abroad has not recovered significantly. The production resumption of NEV companies and battery cell makers is not optimistic. The production is expected to be normal in mid-February, so the demand for high-purity manganese sulphate remains poor. The current high-purity manganese sulphate market is in supply deficit, hence some high-purity manganese sulphate enterprises will restock raw materials and the output will grow to about 18,700 mt in physical content. On the whole, the high-purity manganese sulphate market will be slack in February, and the prices will mainly move between 6,250-6,700 yuan/mt.