This week, the price of ternary cathode precursor continued to rise. From the cost side, the production costs of nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate have remained high recently, pushing smelters to maintain high quotations. At the same time, the order situation for precursor factories is good, with some enterprises having low levels of raw material inventory, leading to a strong need for restocking, thus increasing their acceptance of high upstream prices. Against the backdrop of rising nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate prices, the % payable in settlements between precursor producers and downstream cathode material plants has also gradually increased. Some producers have already raised the % payable for long-term contracts, while spot orders continue the upward trend seen over the past two weeks.
Looking ahead to September, it is expected that the demand for ternary materials will remain robust, but due to tight supplies of nickel sulphate, if large-scale orders are signed by precursor factories before the end of this month, they will have to accept high-priced raw materials, leading to an anticipated further increase in the price of ternary cathode precursors by the end of this month and into September.
