On June 19, the Equipment Industry Department I of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Quality Development Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the Fire Supervision Department of the National Fire and Rescue Administration (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "three departments") jointly held a video conference to strengthen the safety management of new energy vehicles (NEVs) and to study and deploy the safety management work for NEVs this year.

SMM Cobalt Morning Meeting Summary: This week, the spot price of refined cobalt maintained a fluctuating trend. On the supply side, due to the low economic efficiency of refined cobalt production, the operating rate of smelters remained low, resulting in a slight decrease in the supply of refined cobalt. On the demand side, influenced by the policy-related news from the DRC, some smelters and traders reported an increased willingness of downstream producers to inquire about prices. However, most buyers and sellers are still in the negotiation phase, and overall market transactions remain sluggish. The DRC's policy is expected to be officially announced by the end of this week, and it is anticipated that there will be significant changes in spot prices after the policy is implemented.

[SMM Cobalt & Lithium Morning Meeting Summary: Driven by the dual effects of weakened cost support and supply-demand imbalance, the prices of some artificial graphite anode materials declined this week. Cost side, the prices of upstream raw materials have been on a downward trend for two consecutive months, providing a cost basis for the decline in product prices. Demand side, affected by the high inventory of finished vehicles, the production pace of NEVs slowed down, causing the demand for power battery cells to be under pressure. However, the demand in the small-scale ESS market recovered, offsetting the decline in end-user demand for battery cells to a certain extent. This change in demand structure was transmitted upstream, maintaining stable demand for anode materials from the battery cell side.

[SMM Weekly Review] This week, the spot price of refined cobalt continued to maintain a fluctuating trend. On the supply side, due to the low economic efficiency of refined cobalt production, the operating rate of smelters remained low, resulting in a slight decline in the supply of refined cobalt. On the demand side, influenced by the policy-related news from the DRC, some smelters and traders reported an increased willingness of downstream producers to inquire about prices. However, most buyers and sellers are still in the negotiation phase, and overall market transactions remain sluggish. The DRC's policy may be officially announced by the end of this week, and it is expected that the spot price will undergo significant changes after the policy is implemented.

[LCO prices fell slightly this week] This week, the LCO market prices showed a downward trend. Specifically, the mainstream quotations for 4.2V, 4.4V, and 4.5V specification products pulled back to 208,000 yuan/mt, 212,000 yuan/mt, and 223,000 yuan/mt, respectively.

[Separator prices continue to remain stable] SMM reported on June 19: The overall market price of separators remained stable this week. ...

[SMM Lithium Battery Market Analysis: Weekly Summary of LFP Market] This week, the price of LFP dropped slightly, with an overall decline of approximately 60 yuan/mt. This was mainly due to the slight decline in lithium carbonate prices this week, which accumulated to a decrease of about 200 yuan/mt.

[This week, cobalt prices continued to correct, and significant fluctuations are expected next week.] This week, the spot price of Co3O4 continued to experience a slight correction. ...