October 24: Northern ports: South African high-iron fines at 29.3-30 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi-carbonate at 34-34.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Gabonese fines at 39.6-40.2 yuan/mtu, up 0.25% WoW; Australian lumps at 40.2-40.9 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron fines at 35-35.7 yuan/mtu, flat WoW. Southern ports: South African high-iron fines at 30.6-31.1 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi-carbonate at 36.9-37.4 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Gabonese fines at 40.6-40.9 yuan/mtu, up 0.49% WoW; Australian lumps at 40-40.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron fines at 36.4-37.1 yuan/mtu, flat WoW.

On October 21, the APAC (10th) Ni-Cr-Mn Stainless Steel & New Energy Conference 2025, hosted by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (SMM), successfully concluded in Xiamen, Fujian!

Despite holding one of the world’s largest reserves of lithium—a critical metal for electric vehicle batteries—Bolivia’s lithium industry has long been hampered by political resistance and a state-controlled mining policy. Lithium agreements signed by outgoing President Luis Arce with companies from allied nations such as China and Russia were blocked by Congress. President-elect Paz has pledged to review these contracts to ensure transparency, a move that could either unlock new opportunities or raise concerns among investors.

On October 23, 2025, at the Zaozhuang New Energy Battery Conference, Sunwoda announced a major technological breakthrough: the "Xin·Bixiao" polymer solid-state battery cell with an energy density of 400 Wh/kg, and declared the successful trial production of a 520 Wh/kg lithium metal battery.

On October 9, 2025, the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs issued Announcement No. 58 of 2025, announcing the decision to implement export controls on items related to lithium batteries and artificial graphite anode materials, which will officially take effect on November 8, 2025.

Spot cobalt sulphate prices remained generally stable this week. Supply side, smelter quotations showed relatively small changes from the previous week, with enterprises producing cobalt sulphate from intermediate products maintaining prices at around 91,000-93,000 yuan/mt, while MHP and recycling enterprises kept quotations near 86,000-88,000 yuan/mt. Demand side, ternary cathode precursor and Co3O4 enterprises remained cautious in procurement due to the rapid rise in cobalt sulphate prices and incomplete order locking; cathode enterprises have completed annual stockpiling, leading to a slight weakening in stockpiling sentiment. Overall, the rapid price increase since September has resulted in a significant divergence in price expectations between upstream and downstream enterprises. The market is expected to enter a phase of contention in the short term, with cobalt sulphate prices likely to stabilize as downstream players gradually digest and accept the current price levels.

This week, spot prices for cobalt intermediate products maintained an upward trend. Supply side, customs data released on Monday showed that cobalt intermediate product imports rose slightly MoM in September, but as the increase remained relatively low compared to market demand, major miners and traders remained optimistic about the outlook and continued to suspend offers. Demand side, overall market changes were limited, with inquiries from downstream smelters gradually moving higher. However, constrained by suppliers' firm refusal to budge on prices, actual transactions remained sluggish, and the market continued to exhibit a "price without market" pattern. Given that domestic cobalt raw material supply is expected to remain structurally tight in the long term, cobalt intermediate product prices are projected to retain further upward momentum.

Refined cobalt prices experienced significant fluctuations this week, but from the actual supply-demand structure perspective, changes in market fundamentals were limited. Supply side, smelters continued to suspend quotations due to tight raw material inventory; although traders raised spot quotations following the futures market, trading activity remained sluggish as cobalt prices rose too rapidly early in the week. To promote actual transactions, some traders gradually adjusted their quotation benchmark from a slight premium to parity or even a slight discount. Demand side, downstream enterprises mainly engaged in just-in-time procurement, with no significant increase in overall trading volume. Regarding the price correction observed in the latter half of the week, aside from the impact of capital behavior, analysis suggests it was primarily driven by three factors: first, after the rise in refined cobalt prices, the profit margin for converting it back into cobalt salts narrowed, reducing smelters' purchase willingness; second, although overseas refined cobalt prices remained high, their capacity to absorb excessively high domestic prices was limited; third, the circulation of some low-priced, non-invoiced cargoes in the market exerted downward pressure on mainstream prices. Overall, following this round of price increases, the price spread between refined cobalt and cobalt salts widened once again. Given that refined cobalt can be used as a raw material for conversion back into cobalt salts, its price is expected to gradually converge toward the conversion cost line of cobalt salts to achieve a rationalization of the price spread.