[SMM Weekly Review] This week, cobalt sulphate prices stabilized overall, with market transaction prices for new goods remaining around 5-5.2 yuan/mt. No higher transaction prices were heard for the time being. On the supply side, smelters currently maintained their refusal to budge on prices, and some traders had limited old stocks, leading to price increases. On the demand side, downstream demand showed divergence. Ternary orders still did not see significant improvement, with buyers adopting a wait-and-see attitude, focusing on digesting previous inventory. The intended purchase prices remained around 46,000-47,000 yuan/mt, with pressure existing at 47,000 yuan/mt and above. Co3O4 and traditional chemical enterprises currently had better economic performance, with some enterprises making purchases in the market. Refined cobalt purchases remained suspended due to poor economic performance. Overall, the market situation this week was largely consistent with last week. It is expected that under the influence of rising raw material costs, cobalt sulphate prices may continue to maintain a strong trend in the short term. However, during this process, it is still necessary to observe the improvement in downstream ternary demand.

In previous summers, the fertilizer market entered the traditional consumption off-season, and industrial-grade MAP prices often came under pressure due to shrinking agricultural demand. However, this year differs from previous years as industrial-grade MAP prices did not experience a significant decline during the off-season but remained relatively high compared to the same period in previous years, showing an unusual trend of "stronger-than-usual off-season."

[SMM Weekly Review of Lithium Battery Electrolyte Market: Electrolyte Prices Declined This Week (2025.7.14-7.17)] From July 14 to July 17, 2025, electrolyte prices declined. Considering that it is difficult to achieve substantial improvement in the supply-demand relationship in the short term, the lack of strong stimulating factors in the industry, and the backdrop of a slight decrease in costs, it is expected that electrolyte prices will fluctuate rangebound in the coming period.

[SMM Weekly Review of Lithium Battery Anode Market: Anode Material Prices Remained Stable This Week] SMM reported on July 17: This week, the prices of artificial graphite anode materials maintained a stable trend. Cost side, the cost of anode raw materials remained stable.

[SMM Weekly Review of Lithium Battery Graphite Market: Graphitisation Market in Stalemate, Prices May Rise Slightly in the Future] SMM reported on July 17: This week, the graphitisation market prices showed a relatively stalemate trend. Supply and demand side, with the accelerated advancement of integrated layout by anode material enterprises

[SMM Weekly Review of Lithium Battery Anode Raw Material Market: This week, the price of low-sulphur petroleum coke remained stable, with an average market price of 3,860 yuan/mt.]

This week, the price of 5-series ternary cathode material increased slightly, while the prices of 6-series and 8-series ternary cathode materials declined.

This week, the price of ternary cathode precursor decreased slightly.

[SMM Analysis: Review and Outlook of the Electrolyte Industry in H1 2025] According to SMM statistics, over the past six months, the total production of electrolyte reached 907,480 mt, up 62.5% YoY compared to 558,390 mt in H1 2024.