SMM News, April 2:
Electrolyte market prices remained temporarily stable this week. Among them, 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 increase in electrolyte costs was limited this week. For LiPF6, although overall demand rebounded significantly in March, both upstream and downstream had accumulated certain inventory earlier, and prices were in a downward channel. As a result, upstream enterprises proactively controlled production, and with maintenance at some manufacturers, destocking in March was highly effective, significantly easing inventory pressure at producers. Meanwhile, the prices of major raw materials for LiPF6 have risen recently, pushing up production costs. Profit margins for enterprises were further squeezed, and willingness to sell at lower prices weakened markedly. Some enterprises even showed intentions to raise prices, though this has not yet materially materialized, and prices were mainly stable in the short term. On the solvent side, driven by maintenance at top-tier enterprises and rising raw material prices, prices edged up slightly, but the impact on overall electrolyte costs was limited. Therefore, electrolyte prices remained broadly stable recently. Demand side, recovering demand from the battery cell segment, combined with enterprise stockpiling for the subsequent period, lifted battery cell production, boosting electrolyte demand accordingly. Supply side, the electrolyte industry mostly adopted a produce based on sales model. Driven by downstream demand boost, enterprises raised operating rates in line with order conditions, and overall industry production also increased. Overall, constrained by the relatively weak overall bargaining power of the electrolyte industry, subsequent price trends still require close tracking of changes in upstream raw material prices.
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
Xu Mengqi 021-20707868
Hu Xuejie 021-20707858
Chen Bolin 021-51666836
Wang Yizhou 021-51595909
