Rising costs drive a price recovery, and the manganese sulphate market is expected to hold up well in the near term [SMM Battery-grade Manganese Sulphate Weekly Review]

The domestic manganese sulfate market reversed its previous weakness this week, stopping its decline and edging higher, as futures officially ended a persistently weak consolidation trend.

The core driver of this price increase was strong support from the cost side. Sulphuric acid prices surged again recently, while manganese ore spot prices remained high, significantly raising overall production costs for manganese salt enterprises. The willingness of producers to offer low-priced discounts and sell nearly vanished, and market quotes were raised accordingly. The demand side saw a clear marginal recovery, with operating rates at downstream lithium battery material enterprises improving compared to earlier periods and increased market activity. In addition to fulfilling rigid long-term contract orders, some precursor plants moderately increased spot procurement volumes, leading to a notable improvement in inquiry and transaction sentiment. However, overall industry supply remained ample, market inventories showed no significant destocking, and downstream sectors engaged in no large-scale, concentrated stockpiling. The incremental demand was relatively limited, resulting in insufficient momentum for a sharp short-term price surge. Overall, prices exhibited a mild, firm trend, drifting higher amid small fluctuations.

Bullish support continues to accumulate for the near-term outlook. On one hand, the tight supply situation in the sulphuric acid market is unlikely to ease quickly, which will continue strengthening the support from raw material costs for futures. On the other, with the arrival of Q3, mid-nickel high-voltage precursor capacity will gradually ramp up. This production route has a higher unit consumption of manganese raw materials, providing a definite increase in rigid demand for the manganese sulfate market. Driven by the resonance between rising costs and recovering demand, the manganese sulfate market is expected to have the momentum and room for a sustained uptrend ahead.