Cathode material manufacturers continue to face significant pressure on the cost side [SMM Ternary Cathode Material Market Weekly Review]

This week, ternary cathode material prices dropped slightly overall. Cost side, nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate prices rose rapidly, while lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide pulled back due to market sentiment. As the decline in lithium chemicals prices exceeded the increase in nickel and cobalt salt prices, ternary cathode material prices dropped slightly.

Currently, cathode plants face significant pressure on the cost side. On one hand, nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate quotes were significantly higher than the psychological acceptance level of ternary producers. For enterprises that use formula pricing and back-to-back payable indicators with precursor plants, the impact was relatively limited; however, cathode plants using fixed-price models had to directly bear the rapid rise in nickel and cobalt prices. On the other hand, lithium chemicals prices, driven by sentiment, fluctuated sharply and fell rapidly this week, causing cathode plants that had purchased at high levels to face losses when selling at low levels.

Demand side, orders from some producers in the domestic EV market decreased slightly in September, but overall demand remained at a high level for the year. Stockpiling before the National Day holiday is expected to gradually start from next week, and the production pace may accelerate. After October, overall demand is expected to pull back gradually.