[SMM Analysis] Pressure on the cost side eases, boosting anode production growth in June

On the cost side, due to weak downstream demand, the prices of graphitisation tolling services and raw material coke continued to decline. On the demand side, however, there was a recovery trend. In June, battery cell production reached 143.34 GWh, up 1% MoM. Against the backdrop of a slight increase in downstream demand and an expansion of corporate profit margins, anode material companies increased their production enthusiasm, driving a MoM increase in production.

Looking ahead to July, in the NEV market, entering the traditional sales off-season and with government subsidies for H1 already exhausted, new energy vehicle sales in July may decrease significantly, which will be transmitted upstream to the anode side, and the demand for anode materials from power battery cells may decline. In the ESS sector, influenced by European summer PV, the demand for anode materials may increase. Considering the combined demand from the NEV and ESS sectors, the downstream demand for anode materials in July may only increase slightly, and the production enthusiasm of anode material companies will also be affected accordingly.