As of this Friday, at northern ports: Australian lump ore was priced at 39.5-40.5 yuan/mtu, up 2.56% WoW from last Friday; Australian seed ore was priced at 36.5-37.5 yuan/mtu, down 1.33% WoW from last Friday; South African semi-carbonate ore was priced at 33.6-34.1 yuan/mtu, up 0.30% WoW from last Friday; Gabon ore was priced at 36.6-37.6 yuan/mtu, down 1.07% WoW from last Friday; South African high-iron ore was priced at 29.8-30.3 yuan/mtu, down 0.66% WoW from last Friday. At southern ports: Australian lump ore was priced at 39.5-40.5 yuan/mtu, up 1.27% WoW from last Friday; Australian seed ore was priced at 37.5-38 yuan/mtu, down 2.58% WoW from last Friday; South African semi-carbonate ore was priced at 34-34.5 yuan/mtu, unchanged WoW from last Friday; Gabon ore was priced at 38.8-39.3 yuan/mtu, down 0.51% WoW from last Friday; South African high-iron ore was priced at 28.5-29 yuan/mtu, up 0.70% WoW from last Friday. Affected by the news about South African manganese ore, the SiMn futures market surged and then pulled back during the week. Driven by the surge in the SiMn futures market yesterday, ore prices rose slightly, with some miners maintaining firm quotes. Downstream alloy plants showed weak acceptance of high-priced manganese ore, resulting in relatively sluggish market transactions and ore prices struggling to rise. Attention should be paid to the future performance of the SiMn futures market and the actual procurement of manganese ore by downstream alloy plants.

SMM Cobalt Morning Meeting Summary: This week, the spot price of refined cobalt has fallen significantly. Supply side, the market is still absorbing the pace of social inventory digestion. The economic efficiency of refined cobalt production continues to decline, and production cuts at smelters are likely to persist. In terms of quotation, traders' quotes continue to decline in line with the futures market. Recently, some traders have been influenced by funding costs and have chosen to exit the market and sell their inventory. Demand side, amid the price decline, the purchase situation of downstream producers has slightly improved, with inquiries and buying interest picking up. It is expected that next week, the spot price of refined cobalt may continue to fluctuate.

[SMM Cobalt and Lithium Morning Meeting Summary: This week, prices of products such as lithium chemicals and cobalt salts continued to decline, while nickel salt prices saw a slight correction but with limited upward movement. This week, coefficients for products like ternary and LCO black mass also continued to fall. Taking ternary black mass as an example: Currently, the coefficient for ternary pole piece black mass is 74-76.5%, and for ternary battery black mass, it is 71-72.5%. The prices per % lithium for LFP pole piece black mass range from 2,500 to 2,600 yuan/mtu, and for LFP battery black mass, they range from 2,100 to 2,250 yuan/mtu.

[5.23 Lithium Battery News] ►BYD's all-electric vehicle sales in Europe surpassed Tesla's for the first time in April ►New standards for all-solid-state batteries introduced to address issues such as vague industry definitions and lack of testing methods ►Tientie Technology: Signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Xinjie Energy to collaborate on lithium metal anode materials for solid-state batteries and related fields ►Farasis Energy: The company's progress in solid-state batteries is at a leading level in the industry, and semi-solid-state batteries have been recognized by multiple customers ►Ningxin New Materials: Specialty graphite materials primarily serve the R&D and production of solid-state electrolytes ►Changan Automobile: To achieve vehicle-mounted validation of solid-state batteries by 2026

According to media reports, the US Department of Commerce has made a preliminary ruling that there are subsidies for key battery components in China, believing that Chinese producers of active anode materials have received substantial government subsidies, paving the way for the subsequent imposition of countervailing duties.

[SMM Analysis: Weekly Summary of LFP Material Market] The downward trend in LFP prices slowed down this week, with an overall decline of approximately 365 yuan/mt. This was mainly due to the continuous decline in lithium carbonate prices this week, which fell by a total of approximately 1,450 yuan/mt. On the market side, material manufacturers were generally more active in production this week, with production at leading material manufacturers beginning to recover. However, production at some second-tier material manufacturers declined, primarily due to adjustments in the downstream battery cell supply chain structure, coupled with a slight decrease in downstream NEV orders. On the demand side, ESS demand continued to improve. On one hand, the US reduced tariffs on Chinese goods, prompting downstream battery cell manufacturers to rush to increase exports, resulting in a slight increase in orders.

[SMM Weekly Review] This week, the price of DC-side battery cabins fluctuated relatively small. The average price of a 5MWh DC-side battery cabin was 0.43 yuan/Wh; the average price of a 3.44/3.77MWh DC-side battery cabin was 0.438 yuan/Wh

[LCO prices continue to decline slightly due to the impact of raw materials] The LCO market was under pressure this week, with mainstream quotations for 4.2V/4.4V/4.5V products pulling back to 217,000 yuan/mt, 221,000 yuan/mt, and 232,000 yuan/mt, respectively...