LCO: Raw Material Price Increases Pass Through to Cathode, Inventory Buffer Delays Procurement Urgency

In the LCO market, most mainstream producers have suspended quotations, with a few enterprises achieving transactions for 4.45V products at 250,000 yuan/mt. The price rise was primarily driven by increases in upstream cobalt chloride and Co3O4. Currently, cathode material and battery cell enterprises maintain relatively sufficient inventory, providing a buffer against the rapid raw material price increases and reducing the need for short-term emergency restocking. Consequently, despite ongoing cost-side pressure, downstream battery cell manufacturers are mainly adopting a wait-and-see approach, resulting in limited actual transactions. LCO prices are expected to remain firm pre-holiday, but it will take time for trading activity to pick up.

Cong Wang 021-51666838

Rui Ma 021-51595780

Disheng Feng 021-51666714

Yanlin Lü 021-20707875

Zhicheng Zhou 021-51666711

Haohan Zhang 021-51666752

Zihan Wang 021-51666914

Jie Wang 021-51595902

Yang Xu 021-51666760

Lianting Yang 021-51595835

Zhaoyu Wang 021-51666827