[SMM Weekly Review] Costs Diverged and Demand Weakened, Second-Life Application Grade B Prices Remained Stable This Week, 2026.02.2-2026.02.5

Published: Feb 5, 2026 16:02

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This week, considering the overall market situation, second-life application B-grade prices remained generally stable without wild swings. Cost side, lithium carbonate prices showed a clear downward trend, nickel sulphate prices edged down slightly, while cobalt sulphate prices remained steady. Supply side, as the Chinese New Year holiday approached, many enterprises entered the year-end wrap-up phase, resulting in an overall weak willingness to sell. Demand side, year-end stockpiling by downstream enterprises was largely completed, leading to low overall purchasing enthusiasm and a significant slowdown in the restocking pace. Among these, the small power sector experienced a noticeable contraction in demand due to relevant policy adjustments, while the energy storage sector maintained relatively stable demand, becoming the main support on the demand side. Considering multiple factors—such as diverging trends in cost-side products, cautious shipments by supply-side enterprises, and structural adjustments on the demand side—although overall market trading activity remained subdued and there was a certain time lag in the transmission of raw material prices to end-users, second-life application B-grade prices continued to exhibit a relatively stable pattern this week.

SMM February 5 News:

Second-Life Application Market This Week:

This week, the second-life application market remained generally stable overall, with no significant fluctuations observed in B-grade product prices. Cost side, lithium carbonate prices showed a clear downward trend, nickel sulphate prices edged down slightly, while cobalt sulphate prices remained steady. Supply side, as the Chinese New Year holiday approached, many enterprises entered the pre-holiday winding-down phase, resulting in an overall weak willingness to sell. Demand side, year-end stockpiling by downstream enterprises was largely completed, leading to generally low purchasing enthusiasm and a significant slowdown in the pace of restocking. Within the small power sector, demand contracted noticeably due to relevant policy adjustments, while the energy storage segment maintained relatively robust demand, serving as the primary support on the demand side. Considering factors such as divergent trends in cost-side materials, cautious shipments from supply-side enterprises, and structural adjustments on the demand side, despite the overall subdued trading atmosphere and a certain time lag in the transmission of raw material price changes to end-users, B-grade product prices in the second-life application market continued their relatively stable pattern this week.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Cong Wang 021-51666838

Rui Ma 021-51595780

Disheng Feng 021-51666714

Yanlin Lv 021-20707875

Yue Lei 021-20707873

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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