September 5 news: Northern ports: Australian lumps 40.1-40.6 yuan/mtu, down 0.49% WoW; South African semi-carbonate 34.2-35.7 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Gabon 39-39.6 yuan/mtu, down 0.51% WoW; South African high-iron 29.4-29.9 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron 35.1-35.6 yuan/mtu, flat WoW. Southern ports: Australian lumps 39.6-40.3 yuan/mtu, down 0.50% WoW; South African semi-carbonate 36.3-36.8 yuan/mtu, down 0.54% WoW; Gabon 39.4-39.9 yuan/mtu, down 0.50% WoW; South African high-iron 30.5-31 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron 36.5-37.2 yuan/mtu, flat WoW. Overall, the manganese ore market recently maintained a consolidating trend with sluggish port transactions, while ore prices remained stable. The manganese ore prices are expected to maintain a fluctuating trend in the near term, with focus on the new round of offers from mainstream mines and the rigid demand support from downstream SiMn alloy.

This week, overall data showed that supply-side production in both the NEV and ESS markets entered a demand growth phase by the end of August. The EV market increased upstream power battery cell production to prepare for the September-October peak season in auto sales and meet automakers' year-end stockpiling needs for sales targets. However, demand-side end-of-life battery volumes remained stable without synchronous growth alongside power battery cell production. This stability primarily resulted from previously installed power batteries still operating within normal service cycles, not yet entering large-scale retirement phases.

The separator market maintained stable supply and demand, with prices remaining steady.

Cobalt chloride prices continued to rise, with strong bullish sentiment in the market.

Price Divergence of Co3O4 Remains Significant, Inventory Depletion Fuels Bullish Expectations

[LCO Prices Rose Steadily, Supported by Downstream Stocking Demand]

Spot prices of cobalt intermediate products remained strong this week, with mainstream brand prices in the domestic market reaching around $13.5/lb. Supply side, major miners refused to budge on prices, while traders continued to raise their offers. Demand side, smelters maintained just-in-time procurement under pressure from high raw material costs, with some companies reporting they opted for cobalt salt as a substitute for intermediate products due to the excessive price spread between raw materials and finished products caused by the rapid earlier price surge of cobalt intermediates. Overall, affected by the DRC's delayed policy, China's cobalt intermediate products will continue to face raw material shortages, maintaining upward momentum, though attention should be paid to potential demand suppression from rising raw material costs.

Cobalt sulphate spot prices surged this week. Supply side, smelters and traders raised their quotation ranges, with cobalt intermediate product smelters quoting 55,000-56,000 yuan/mt, MHP and recycling companies quoting 53,000-54,000 yuan/mt, and traders quoting above 53,000 yuan/mt. Demand side, market sentiment improved significantly in recent weeks, with downstream purchase willingness strengthening and some companies conducting large-scale restocking. Mainstream transaction prices this week hovered around 53,000 yuan/mt, with the price center gradually moving upward. Supported by rising raw material costs and substantial restocking during downstream peak season, cobalt sulphate prices are expected to maintain strong momentum in the short term.