On the raw material front, spot lithium carbonate prices oscillated and edged lower this week, nickel salt prices saw some correction, and cobalt salt prices continued to decline. Looking at different scrap types – NMC, lithium cobaltate, and LFP – for the LFP hydrometallurgical route: taking LFP cathode sheet black mass as an example, prices stood at 7,550–7,900 yuan per lithium point this week, representing a sharp drop from last Tuesday’s transaction levels.
Although lithium carbonate futures and spot prices experienced a corrective uptick on Monday morning, the overall weekly transaction price center kept moving downward. Moreover, from Monday afternoon through Thursday, futures prices began to fall, further dragging LFP black mass prices continuously lower. As some LFP battery recyclers have increasingly linked their pricing to futures, the market has become more sensitive. On the NCM and lithium cobaltate side, the nickel-cobalt-lithium coefficient for NCM black mass edged down slightly, with the coefficient for NCM cathode sheet powder at around 78–80%. This week into the current month, sporadic deals gradually emerged, and downstream buyers largely purchased on a just-in-time basis. The cobalt-lithium coefficient prices for pure cobalt and high-cobalt scrap remained largely stable. Despite the continued decline in cobalt and lithium salt prices, most companies, after suspending purchases in early April due to high inventory, have now run down those elevated stocks. By the end of May, some began to show restocking demand. Additionally, the supply of pure cobalt and high-cobalt black mass has been consistently tight. As a result, prices held steady temporarily amid the weakness in salt prices.
