Today, SMM battery-grade spot lithium carbonate price rose significantly compared to the previous working day. Futures side, the lithium carbonate 2609 contract opened high today at 191,500 yuan/mt, briefly pulled back to 191,000 yuan/mt after the opening before quickly rallying, stabilizing above the 193,000 yuan/mt level in the morning session. Around midday, bulls continuously increased open interest, driving prices to accelerate upward. In the afternoon session, prices fluctuated at highs with an upward bias, further surging to 199,600 yuan/mt near the close, ultimately settling at 199,400 yuan/mt, up 7.31%, with open interest increasing by 21,281 lots.

In response to investor concerns about recent increases in raw material prices, Farasis Energy stated that the company has established a comprehensive price linkage mechanism to smoothly pass on price increases. Currently, some raw material prices have risen, coupled with continuously expanding market demand, leading to an industry-wide trend of rising lithium battery prices. The company is actively communicating with customers about price adjustments, and some products have already undergone price increases.

I. Price Review Lithium Battery Recycling: January-February: Pre-holiday stockpiling led to oscillating prices. In January, the price of spent lithium batteries overall moved within a range. As battery scrap prices remained firm, production costs for hydrometallurgical plants continued to be inverted, leading to no large-scale pre-holiday stockpiling demand; procurement was mostly for order-based, rigid demand. Due to the impact of the Spring Festival holiday in February, with breaks expected to last until around the Lantern Festival for some small and medium-sized crushing plants and traders, the circulation volume of scrap in the market decreased, resulting in thin trading. Prices for salts like sulfuric nickel and sulfuric cobalt remained basically stable in terms of demand, while lithium carbonate prices experienced a slight decline. As lithium salt prices fell while the price of black mass required for production remained temporarily stable, the cost inversion for some LFP recycling enterprises worsened, leading them to adopt a wait-and-see attitude.