Ternary cathode material prices increased slightly this week. On the raw material side, nickel sulphate continued to drop slightly, cobalt sulphate prices rebounded, manganese sulphate remained stable, while lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide experienced recent fluctuations and rebounded mid-week. As a result, the overall increase in ternary cathode material prices was limited.
Currently, producers are generally in the negotiation phase for next year's long-term contract business terms. Due to significant differences in price expectations between upstream and downstream players, and as raw material prices have not yet been finalised, the final negotiation outcomes are expected to take more time to clarify. On the supply-demand side, with the end of the traditional peak season, both the domestic power and consumer markets saw a pullback in demand.
Approaching year-end, some producers have a slight destocking need, and coupled with high uncertainty in the future trend of raw material prices, enterprises are proactively controlling their production pace, leading to a cautious overall production schedule. In terms of product structure, although orders for mid-to-high nickel materials pulled back compared to the previous period, they remained at relatively high levels; high-nickel materials, affected by shrinking overseas market demand, saw a certain reduction in orders.
Overall, ternary cathode material prices are expected to have room for a slight increase this week, but limited by the demand pullback and negotiation deadlock, the upward momentum is constrained.
