[SMM Weekly Review of Electrolyte Market: Lithium Electrolyte Prices Decline, Fluctuate Rangebound in the Short Term] From April 28 to April 30, 2025, electrolyte prices declined, driven by the continuous drop in the price of LiPF6, a core raw material. It is expected that electrolyte prices will continue to fluctuate rangebound in the coming period.

[SMM Weekly Review of Refined Cobalt Market: Refined Cobalt Spot Price Strengthens] This week, the spot price of refined cobalt fluctuated upward. Supply side, the current social inventory in the market remains relatively high. However, due to tight raw material supply and the declining economic efficiency of refined cobalt production, some smelters have implemented production cuts. The market expects that the available supply in the future may decline. Demand side, the inquiry enthusiasm of downstream producers has slightly increased, but they are still basically maintaining a production schedule based on demand. It is expected that after the holiday, the refined cobalt price will maintain a fluctuating trend.

In Q1 2025, the global power battery market remained in a growth phase, but intensified competition led to significant differentiation among producers, with top-tier enterprises continuing to expand their market share by leveraging their scale and technological advantages, while the rankings of second- and third-tier enterprises saw substantial changes.

[SMM Analysis of China's LFP Market in April] In April 2025, the price of LFP in China plummeted, while production saw a slight increase compared to expectations, boosted by demand from the NEV sector. It is expected that production will continue to grow in May, but prices will struggle to rise.

By the end of April, YOUNGY released its Q1 2025 performance report. According to the annual report data, the company achieved a total operating revenue of 95.0535 million yuan, up 15.30% YoY. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the publicly listed firm was 20.0339 million yuan, down 28.69% YoY. Regarding the reasons why the company's revenue still achieved a YoY growth of over 15% amid the backdrop of falling lithium prices, YOUNGY stated that the main reason was the smooth implementation of the outsourced processing business for raw ore transportation, which led to an increase in the sales and production of lithium concentrates.

[SMM Analysis: Rising Demand and Falling Costs Lead to Increased Production of Anode Materials in April] SMM reported on May 7: Cost side, the price of graphitisation tolling services remained stable amid the ongoing tug-of-war between supply-demand relationship and cost factors; the price of raw material coke weakened due to sluggish anode procurement demand from traditional industries, ...