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The LCO market was under pressure this week, with mainstream quotations for 4.2V/4.4V/4.5V products pulling back to 214,000 yuan/mt, 219,000 yuan/mt, and 230,000 yuan/mt, respectively. The price adjustments were mainly driven by dual pressures from the raw material side: battery-grade lithium carbonate continued to decline amidst volatile market conditions, while the Co3O4 market saw limited transactions and a slight price drop. On the supply side, upstream Co3O4 producers held significant inventory, but the market generally held a bullish long-term outlook on cobalt prices, leading to a notable reluctance to budge on prices. On the demand side, end-user producers were still digesting battery cell inventory, resulting in a slight decrease in demand for LCO cathodes. However, LCO cathode plants generally had low raw material inventory, maintaining a decent purchase willingness. Currently, both upstream and downstream players are awaiting policy developments in the DRC at the end of June. Therefore, the market is expected to remain relatively mediocre in the first half of June.
SMM New Energy Research Team
Wang Cong 021-51666838
Yu Xiaodan 021-20707870
Ma Rui 021-51595780
Xu Ying 021-51666707
Feng Disheng 021-51666714
Liu Yujun 021-20707895
Lv Yanlin 021-20707875
Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711
Zhang Haohan 021-51666752
Wang Zihan 021-51666914
Ren Xiaoxuan 021-20707866
Liang Yushuo 021-20707892
Wang Jie 021-51595902
Xu Yang 021-51666760
Yang Lianting 021-51595835
Wang Zhaoyu 021-51666827
