[SMM Separator Weekly Review] Prices Move Sideways, Tug-of-War Between Upstream and Downstream Continues

This week, separator prices continued to move sideways, with quotation ranges for all specifications basically in line with last week. In terms of specific quotations, prices of mid-to-high-end wet-process separator products remained firm: the 5μm (5μ+2μ) grade was quoted at 1.57-1.87 yuan/m², the 7μm (7μ+2μ) grade saw mainstream quotations of 1.14-1.337 yuan/m², and the 9μm (9μ+3μ) grade was quoted at 1.135-1.29 yuan/m². This round of price stagnation was more of a pause in pace than a change in direction. Downstream, after multiple rounds of price adjustments earlier, battery cell enterprises were more inclined to digest existing inventory and showed low acceptance of price increases for new separator orders; upstream, although separator enterprises continued to face order pressure, considering that downstream profit margins had already been squeezed, they lacked strong motivation to push prices higher in the short term, with both sides in a phase of mutual testing. Looking ahead, the September quarterly order negotiations will be the key period for breaking the current balance. The demand peak season, combined with the persistent supply-demand gap, means separator enterprises will have relatively strong conditions to raise prices by then, but the actual magnitude of any price increases will depend on downstream acceptance. In the short term, the price stalemate will persist for some time.

SMM New Energy Industry Research Department

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lyu Yanlin 021-20707875

Zhang Haohan 021-51666752

Wang Zihan 021-51666914

Wang Jie 021-51595902

Xu Yang 021-51666760

Chen Bolin 021-51666836

Yang Le 021-51595898

Li Yisha 021-51666730