SMM Analysis Of China Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD) Production In May And Forecast For June

According to SMM, China's EMD production in May stood at 15,300 mt (including 1,600 mt of LMO type, 9,100 mt of alkaline manganese type, and 4,600 mt of carbon zinc type), down 1.96% MoM and 10.18% YoY. As the downstream demand for LMO weakened, market inquiry frequency slowed down, reducing demand for LMO-type EMD, resulting in fewer new orders. Additionally, affected by the mining end, the raw material prices rose, providing more cost support for EMD prices. However, constrained by demand, EMD prices had limited upward momentum, pulling down scheduled production. In May, high temperatures may cause electrolyte leakage during the production of primary batteries, leading to a decrease in transactions for carbon zinc and alkaline manganese types of EMD.

Entering June, the downstream demand for LMO is expected to further weaken, driving the production of LMO-type EMD to decline. Since primary batteries, as consumer goods, have relatively fixed demand, the production of carbon zinc and alkaline manganese types of EMD will not show an increasing trend. Therefore, the overall scheduled production will slightly decline. The EMD production in June is estimated to be around 15,000 mt.