Separator Price Remained Stable This Week

[SMM Lithium Battery Electrolyte Market Weekly Review: Electrolyte Prices Stabilize This Week (2025.8.18-8.21)] From August 18 to August 21, 2025, electrolyte prices stabilized. Considering that the supply-demand relationship is unlikely to see substantial improvement in the short term, but with some raw material prices rising slightly, it was expected that electrolyte prices would rise slightly over the following period.

Cobalt sulphate prices continued to rise this week, while nickel sulphate prices were basically flat, and the prices of salt products such as lithium carbonate fluctuated. This week, the nickel and cobalt payable indicators for ternary and LCO black mass slightly increased with the rise in salt prices, while the lithium payable indicator began to decline after an earlier increase. The prices per % lithium for LFP black mass also fluctuated this week. Taking ternary black mass as an example: currently, the nickel and cobalt payable indicator for ternary pole piece black mass is 73-75%, up WoW, while the lithium payable indicator is 69-74%, down WoW.

Market trading sentiment was lukewarm, with prices holding steady.

Cobalt Tetroxide Prices Expected to Stabilize in Late August

[This Week LCO Prices Witnessed a Significant Increase]

[This Week's SMM Review] This week, the spot price of refined cobalt fluctuated downward. On the supply side, affected by continuously rising costs, smelters maintained their stance to refuse to budge on prices and largely suspended spot order quotations. The domestic market sentiment for refined cobalt was weak, with traders gradually lowering their quotes, and some companies continued to cut prices to secure deals. On the demand side, there were relatively small changes in the short term; most downstream producers still followed a just-in-time procurement rhythm, showing weak inquiry intentions and low actual transaction volumes. It is expected that the price of refined cobalt will maintain a fluctuating trend in the short term. Future price movements will depend on cost increases and the actual purchasing situation after the summer break ends at the end of August.

[SMM Weekly Review] This week, the spot price of cobalt sulphate rose slowly. On the supply side, smelters and traders refused to budge on prices. The upstream selling sentiment factor was 1.95 this Thursday (compared to 2.02 last Thursday). Cobalt intermediate product smelters maintained their quotes at 54,000~55,000 yuan/mt, while MHP and recycling companies raised their quotes. Some companies had September orders locked in advance, and traders increased their old stock quotes to 50,000~51,000 yuan/mt. On the demand side, ternary cathode precursor manufacturers saw improved orders recently, with stronger inquiry intentions. The downstream purchasing sentiment factor was 1.96 this Thursday (compared to 1.94 last Thursday), and new cobalt sulphate transactions were made around 51,000 yuan/mt by precursor plants. It is expected that under the influence of continuously rising raw material costs, the price of cobalt sulphate will likely maintain a strong trend in the short term, but the extent of the increase still depends on the actual purchase situation downstream.