[SMM Analysis] Natural graphite trade cooled down in May 2025, with a continued decline expected in June

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SMM News on July 16, 2025:

In May 2025,China's imports of flake graphite reached 4,853 mt, showing a 16% decline MoM and a 5% increase YoY.

Source: SMM, China Customs

In May 2025,China's exports of flake graphite reached 8,716 mt, down 3% MoM and 10% YoY; China's exports of spherical graphite reached 3,373 mt, down 39% MoM and 24% YoY.

Source: SMM, China Customs

Source: SMM, China Customs

In May 2025, the natural graphite market was affected by many uncertainties in the international trade environment, showing an overall wait-and-see attitude. Both upstream and downstream enterprises in the natural graphite industry chain at home and abroad were cautious about market trends, slowing down the pace of procurement, production, and import and export activities. This widespread wait-and-see sentiment was directly reflected in trade data, leading to a significant decline in the import and export volumes of flake graphite and the export volume of spherical graphite compared to the previous month.
Looking ahead to June, from the perspective of the market cycle, with the cancellation of mandatory energy storage allocation and the end of the auto show in June, the production pace of downstream battery cell enterprises has slowed down, naturally reducing the demand for natural graphite. Therefore, it is expected that the import and export volumes of flake graphite and the export volume of spherical graphite will continue to decline in July.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lv Yanlin 021-20707875

Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711

Zhang Haohan 021-51666752

Wang Zihan 021-51666914

Wang Jie 021-51595902

Xu Yang 021-51666760

Xu Mengqi 021-20707868

Hu Xuejie 021-20707858