Artificial Graphite Prices Run Firm, Natural Graphite Market Stagnant and Hard to Change [SMM Lithium Battery Anode Raw Material Market Weekly Report]

Published: Jul 9, 2026 17:21

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[SMM Lithium Battery Anode Raw Material Market Weekly Review: Artificial Graphite Prices Remain Firm, Natural Graphite Stalemate Persists] July 9 news: This week, in the artificial graphite segment, overall market conditions were stable and prices showed no significant fluctuations.

SMM, July 9:

This week, in the artificial graphite sector, market conditions remained stable overall, with no significant fluctuations in prices. Supply side, the integrated capacity of tier-1 and tier-2 enterprises struggled to match the continuously climbing orders from downstream, and the tight supply of spot graphite persisted. At the same time, profit margins had been running low for an extended period, and producers' strong willingness to hold prices firm jointly supported the sustained firmness of artificial graphite prices. In the natural graphite sector, end-user procurement demand remained persistently weak, and downstream pushing for lower prices was widespread. However, industry profits were approaching the break-even line, leaving producers with extremely limited room for further concessions. This caused market trading to become stagnant, with transaction prices hovering near the cost line for an extended period.

In terms of outlook, the artificial graphite market was driven by improved demand and tight effective supply, with room for prices to climb steadily. Natural graphite, constrained by insufficient demand-side support, lacked short-term directional drivers, with prices expected to continue moving sideways in consolidation.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lv Yanlin 021-20707875

Zhang Haohan 021-51666752

Wang Zihan 021-51666914

Wang Jie 021-51595902

Chen Bolin 021-51666836

Xu Yang 021-51666760

Xu Mengqi 021-20707868

Hu Xuejie 021-20707858

Yang Le 021-51595898

Wang Zhaoyu 021-51666827

Li Yisha 021-51666730

Huang Chencong 021-51595860

Lin Ziya 021-5166-6902

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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