【SMM Analysis】In August, the supply of lithium hydroxide continued to decline, and the market inventory accumulation continued to narrow.

According to the data, lithium hydroxide inventory in August increased 7% MoM. Regarding specific details, in August, orders for ternary cathode materials from downstream battery cell manufacturers continued to increase, but the growth rate showed a marginal decline compared to July. With the continuous stocking of ternary cathode materials and finished battery cells, the overall market inventory has significantly recovered. The market's expectation for future order growth for materials has weakened, causing ternary cathode material companies to reduce their stocking efforts for raw materials compared to July, as the price of lithium hydroxide continues to decline steadily. Pressure on smelting end shipments has increased, resulting in higher inventory accumulation at the smelting end compared to the cathode end.

Inventory days: As of August 31, 2024, upstream smelter inventories were 33,557 mt, with an average of about 33 days of inventories, while downstream anode enterprises had inventories of 16,519 mt, with an average of about 27 days of inventories.