The LCO market saw mediocre trading, with a slight decline in prices.

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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