China New Energy Market: The Price of Lithium Battery Raw Materials was Generally Stable

Due to the fact that some cathode companies in the early stage took into account the production of some orders in February before January and the normal storage demand during the Spring Festival in February, their demand for bulk procurement has increased, and the supply of low-price goods in the market has decreased slightly; After this week, domestic logistics was basically suspended due to the Spring Festival holiday, and the long-term orders of lithium carbonate in February of cathode companies need to be delivered to the factory before the suspension of operation.

Lithium Mine:
Mica prices stabilized this week. The price trend of mica on the day is relatively flat, the current mica market continues to be relatively light before, most of the downstream smelters still maintain a low start, and with the passage of time, the production schedule still continues to decline, the overall downstream mica preparation sentiment is not high, the actual market transaction is few, and the price is temporarily stable.

Lithium carbonate:
Lithium carbonate prices rose slightly at the beginning of the week. Due to the fact that some cathode enterprises in the early stage took into account the production of some orders in February before January and the normal storage demand during the Spring Festival in February, their demand for bulk order procurement has increased, and the supply of low-price goods in the market has decreased slightly; After this week, domestic logistics was basically suspended due to the impact of the Spring Festival holiday, and the long-term orders of lithium carbonate in February of cathode enterprises need to be delivered to the factory before the suspension of operation. In the short term, lithium salt companies still have no selling pressure and continue to ship at a high price. However, as of this week, the purchase demand of downstream cathode enterprises has basically ended, and more long-term orders have been picked, and their follow-up purchase demand will gradually weaken as the festival approaches, making it difficult to provide demand support for high-priced lithium carbonate. On the whole, the subsequent spot price of lithium carbonate may still maintain a stable state.

Cobalt salts (cobalt sulphate and cobalt chloride):
Cobalt salt prices have been stable for the time being this week. On the supply side, due to the impact of the Spring Festival holiday and the weakening market demand, smelters have reduced production to a certain extent, and the supply has declined. On the demand side, the basic replenishment of the market in the early stage was completed, and the market inquiries were relatively deserted during the week, and there were few transactions. From the perspective of the overall market situation, although the market is in a situation of weak supply and demand, due to the approaching holiday, the market transaction has weakened, so the market has maintained stable operation during the week. It is expected that in the future, the market trading sentiment may further weaken, and the spot price may remain stable

Nickel sulphate:
This week, the price of nickel sulfate rose slightly, mainly due to tight supply and demand. This week's market turnover coefficient is mostly based on SMM's low discount of 98 discount - flat water, which is a slight increase from the previous week's discount of about 95-97. This week's transaction is relatively light compared with last week, mainly due to the difficulty in finding spot spot in the current market, and some ternary precursor companies still have procurement demand for nickel sulfate spot. On the cost side, the production reduction of the first quantum mine has caused market tension, and the tight supply balance has not been improved for the time being, and the raw material coefficient has risen synchronously, and the current MHP coefficient operating range is about 75-77 for LME nickel prices. The current price support is strong, and it is expected that the price of nickel sulfate will remain stable at the current high level next week.

Ternary precursors:
The price of ternary precursors was stable this week. On the cost side, nickel prices rebounded slightly due to the difficulty of finding low-priced spots, and the price of precursors wanted to rise slightly. On the demand side, the overall production schedule of the positive terminal in January was stable, and some enterprises had a better demand for delivery in January due to the increase in downstream orders. In February, due to the Spring Festival, the overall demand of cathode enterprises declined. On the supply side, the production of precursor enterprises has been differentiated, some enterprises have benefited from the incremental superposition of terminal projects to the upward trend of warehouse production in February, and the production of some enterprises has declined greatly after the year-end impulse. The market outlook is expected that under the light demand in February, nickel will have limited room for rebound, and the price of ternary precursors may be relatively stable.

Lithium iron phosphate:
At the beginning of this week, the price of lithium iron phosphate was temporarily stable. On the cost side, the price of lithium carbonate, the main raw material, rebounded slightly, the price of iron phosphate was stable, and the production cost of lithium iron materials was stable and rising. On the raw material side, lithium iron phosphate enterprises are nervously and actively stocking up according to the orders received and expected orders, and arrange production plans before, during and after the festival in advance. On the demand side, the overall demand is still expected to recover, and the recovery of power demand is slightly better than that of energy storage; Enterprises with low inventory of finished battery cells and new orders have begun to stock up on iron-lithium materials. It is estimated that in the future, the price of lithium iron phosphate will be stable.

Lithium cobalt oxide:
This week, the price of lithium cobalt oxide remained stable, the price of tetracobalt and lithium carbonate on the cost side remained stable, and the manufacturing cost of lithium cobalt oxide was stable. Market conditions, the pre-holiday market has been relatively thin, and the transaction is weak. On the demand side, the head demand is relatively stable, the demand for small and medium-sized battery cells is weak, and some companies may take holidays in advance. On the supply side, the production of leading enterprises remained stable, and the production of small and medium-sized enterprises declined. At present, the price war in the multiplier market is still fierce, and the low-price competition may continue in the context of capacity release. The market outlook is expected to show that the price of lithium cobalt oxide is weak and stable.

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