[SMM Analysis] Weekly Market Update on Ternary Cathode Material

Price Aspect: At the beginning of the week, the prices of 5-series and 6-series ternary cathode materials declined, mainly due to the drop in lithium carbonate prices. However, as the DRC suspended cobalt exports for four months, cobalt sulphate prices surged significantly later in the week. Even though both lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide prices decreased, the rise in cobalt sulphate prices still drove up the prices of 5-series, 6-series, and 8-series ternary cathode materials.

Production and Supply: The recovery of orders for ternary cathode materials in March varied. Orders for 6-series materials were relatively optimistic, while 5-series and 8-series materials might struggle to return to January levels. Many enterprises remained in a wait-and-see phase, awaiting downstream order conditions at month-end to determine future production plans. Meanwhile, overseas demand for ternary cathode materials showed limited growth compared to pre-holiday levels, maintaining a relatively stable demand scale, leading to weak production schedule growth expectations for some enterprises primarily supplying overseas markets. Overall, the concentration of orders among top-tier enterprises further strengthened in March, with intense market competition and resources and orders increasingly concentrated among leading companies.