This week, ternary cathode precursor prices continued their strong upward trend, driven by a significant rise in cobalt sulphate prices, with nickel sulphate and manganese sulphate prices also moving higher. Spot supply of nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate is currently noticeably tight, and some small and medium-sized precursor producers have suspended quotations and shipments due to difficulties in procuring raw materials.
Against the backdrop of rapidly rising raw material costs and tightening supply, leading precursor enterprises, supported by robust demand and maintaining high operating rates, are currently prioritizing supply for long-term agreement customers, with annual order discount policies largely unchanged from previous levels. Meanwhile, some companies have suspended quotations for spot order customers or are offering prices well above downstream psychological price levels. Current capacity resources are primarily allocated to fulfilling long-term agreement orders, with spot orders only being accepted selectively based on attractive profit margins. Regarding settlement methods, the actual settlement discounts between precursor producers and cathode material enterprises for quarterly orders or large-volume spot orders have seen significant increases; for smaller-volume spot orders, producers generally quote higher discount coefficients.
Demand side, the EV market saw some front-loaded demand in Q4 due to expectations of certain subsidy phase-outs next year, leading leading precursor enterprises to maintain high production schedules for October-November, primarily focused on mid- and high-nickel materials. Consumer market demand remained generally stable, with some 5-series materials potentially gradually transitioning to 6-series products due to intensifying cost pressures.
Looking ahead, ternary cathode precursor prices are expected to continue rising next week, although the rate of increase may narrow.
