This week, in the ternary cathode precursor market, prices of 5-series for consumer electronics, 6-series for consumer electronics, and 8-series for NEV products experienced a slight correction.
On the raw material cost side, cobalt sulphate and manganese sulphate prices remained stable overall, while nickel sulphate prices pulled back, driving down prices of different series of precursor products.
Demand side, the recent tariff policy adjustments in the US have not yet had a significant impact on the precursor market, and the overall market continues to follow the production schedule and order execution as planned. The demand for precursors used for small power has shown a good recovery trend recently, with active order signing; precursors for large power and consumer electronics also showed a certain recovery trend, but the overall market still lacks new growth drivers. On the supply side, as precursor products have been in a state of losses for a long time, producers have a strong sentiment to stand firm on quotes, and transaction prices remain relatively firm. Affected by the significant market fluctuations this year, producers of precursors for NEV generally no longer sign long-term orders (such as one year or half a year), and instead adopt a monthly negotiation discount approach. At the same time, producers currently generally use a model where the discount coefficients of nickel sulphate, cobalt sulphate, and manganese sulphate are negotiated and settled separately. For the consumer electronics precursor market, spot orders still dominate.
Looking ahead to next week, sulphate prices are expected to show a slight fluctuating trend. Under the combined effects of raw material price fluctuations, producers' stronger sentiment to stand firm on quotes, and downstream phased restocking demand, precursor prices are expected to adjust slightly with raw material fluctuations, but the overall adjustment space is limited.
