This week, China’s manganese-based battery materials market showed a differentiated trend: battery-grade Mn3O4 prices dropped back slightly, EMD prices rose slightly, and LMO remained in a weak balance amid a tug-of-war between sellers and buyers. Although the three major products moved differently, all were supported by the cost side. Overall, the market was mainly stable in the short term, with limited room for wild swings, and the industry gradually transitioned from the post-resumption phase to a stage of steady operation.

The battery-grade Mn3O4 market saw generally light trading this week, with prices edging down slightly. Cost side, upstream EMM prices fluctuated at highs, providing strong cost support for Mn3O4. Demand side became the main trigger for the slight easing in prices. The downstream LMO sector had not yet fully recovered, with procurement mainly focused on small rigid-demand orders, while spot orders were scarce. Overall weak demand was insufficient to support price increases, leading to low market trading activity. Looking ahead, rigid support from the cost side is expected to continue underpinning prices. Although downstream demand is unlikely to improve significantly in the short term, it will limit downside room for prices. The battery-grade Mn3O4 market is expected to remain mainly stable in the short term, with prices likely to stabilize and limited room for wild swings.

Unlike Mn3O4, China’s EMD market remained stable this week, with prices rising slightly. Cost side, manganese carbonate ore and sulphuric acid prices continued to fluctuate at highs. Coupled with steadily increasing environmental protection compliance costs, enterprises’ production costs stayed high. Sellers remained firm in holding prices, with offers sticking to the floor and no active profit concessions. Demand side, as downstream enterprises gradually resumed work and production after the holiday, purchasing sentiment improved somewhat from the previous period. Although downstream sectors such as traditional primary batteries still mainly worked through pre-holiday inventory, demand had already shown signs of recovery, providing some support for prices and pushing offers up slightly. In the short term, rigid support from raw material costs is expected to persist, and enterprise offers are unlikely to loosen. Although a full recovery in downstream demand will still take time, the overall recovery trend is clear.

The LMO market, meanwhile, remained in a weak balance amid a tug-of-war between sellers and buyers this week. The core price-side disturbance came from wild swings in upstream lithium carbonate. In early March, the most-traded lithium carbonate contract once hit the daily down limit sharply. Although this transmitted some pressure to LMO costs, enterprises’ offers were temporarily stable, with no further price adjustments, as LMO had already completed a round of slight price increases earlier. Supply side, the industry had not yet fully resumed normal operations, capacity release was insufficient, and the overall operating rate remained at a medium level. Demand side, recovery among downstream battery cell manufacturers, power battery enterprises, and consumer lithium battery enterprises was weak. Wait-and-see sentiment was strong, purchasing willingness was low, market inquiries were scarce, and actual transactions were light, which was also the main reason for the slight decline in prices.

Overall, the differentiated trend in the manganese-based battery materials market this week primarily stemmed from differences in the pace of demand recovery, while rigid support from the cost side became the common underlying theme across all products. In the short term, fluctuations in lithium carbonate prices will continue to affect the LMO market, while raw material prices such as EMM and manganese carbonate ore fluctuating at highs will continue to support prices of Mn3O4 and EMD, and downstream demand, though gradually recovering, still required time. It was expected that in the short term, the manganese-based battery materials market would maintain its current differentiated pattern, with overall operations remaining mainly stable. Among them, EMD may stay slightly firm, while Mn3O4 and LMO prices were likely to stabilize. Going forward, close attention should be paid to lithium carbonate price trends, the pace of downstream procurement as work resumed, and the transmission impact from the raw material side.