SMM, March 12:
Electrolyte market prices remained temporarily stable this week. Specifically, the average prices of electrolyte for ternary power batteries, LFP, and LMO were 31,250 yuan/mt, 29,500 yuan/mt, and 22,750 yuan/mt, respectively. Cost side, the LiPF6 market showed a loose supply-demand pattern this week. Downstream electrolyte enterprises still held raw material inventory at a certain scale, so overall purchase willingness remained relatively weak. Meanwhile, some LiPF6 producers showed strong willingness to sell in order to accelerate destocking, and accepted electrolyte enterprises' requests to push for lower prices within a reasonable range, causing prices to continue trending downward. However, due to the continued escalation of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, prices of core raw materials for electrolyte solvents—methanol, ethylene oxide, and propylene oxide—rose sharply, directly driving a substantial increase in solvent prices as well. Taking into account both changes on the cost side, electrolyte prices were expected to remain stable in the short term. Demand side, after entering March, with the increase in natural production days and the gradual recovery in demand from sectors such as terminal NEVs, electrolyte market demand was expected to show a relatively obvious growth trend as well. Supply side, the electrolyte industry generally continued the core production model of "produce based on sales." Driven by downstream end-use demand, electrolyte enterprises would raise operating rates based on order conditions, and overall industry production was expected to increase accordingly. Overall, constrained by the relatively weak overall bargaining power of the electrolyte industry, and coupled with the current supply-demand pattern and cost-side price fluctuations, electrolyte market prices were expected to remain stable in the short term.
SMM New Energy Research Team
Wang Cong 021-51666838
Ma Rui 021-51595780
Feng Disheng 021-51666714
Lyu Yanlin 021-20707875
Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711
Xu Mengqi 021-20707868
Hu Xuejie 021-20707858
Chen Bolin 021-51666836
Wang Yizhou 021-51595909
