Weekly Review of NCM Materials

This week, ternary materials prices experienced a slight decline. At the beginning of the week, the decrease in cobalt-lithium prices led to a slight downward trend in positive electrode materials prices.

From the supply side, material manufacturers are operating based on orders received in April. Towards the end of April, there were instances of order reduction by battery manufacturers for May orders. Consequently, due to weakening demand in the power market in May, there is a trend of decreased coordination in production scheduling among ternary materials enterprises. It is anticipated that there may be a certain decline in production compared to April.

On the demand side, although there was a month-on-month decline in sales of new energy vehicles in April, the overall demand from battery cell factories remained positive, leading to an increase in material demand. However, there is a certain decline in demand for ternary materials from battery cell factories in May. This decline may be attributed to several factors: firstly, the digestion of previous material inventories; secondly, expectations of weaker vehicle sales in the second quarter; and thirdly, the demand for some models that were stocked in the first quarter being consumed in the second quarter. It is expected that ternary materials prices will remain mostly stable in the later period.