Lithium: The lithium ore prices were resilient in the face of relatively tight supply, and the traders held the prices firm. But the buyers refused to raise the bids on soft lithium carbonate prices, leading to poor market transactions. It is likely that the lithium carbonate prices will move rangebound in the near term. For lithium carbonate, the spot prices stabilized yesterday, and the futures prices closed the day in the positive. Nevertheless, the market transactions were susbided, and the downstream players were still wait-and-see. It is likely that the lithium carbonate prices will hover rangebound in the short period.
Nickel: With the market players standing on the sidelines, the nickel sulfate producers became less firm to the prices as the nickel prices fell constantly. The quotations were mostly around Yuan 27,000/tonne, and the cathode factories were slow in purchasing though it was the month-end. The nickel sulfate prices are likely to stay soft for lack of support on the cost end.
Cobalt: With the recovery in the power battery market falling short of expectations, the demand for cobalt sulfate stood lackluster, and the downstream players were cautious in building stocks. In this case, the market transactions were subsided. The falling cobalt intermediates prices further weighed on the cobalt sulfate prices. It is likely that the cobalt sulfate prices will stay on the downtrend in the near term.
Battery scrap: The battery scrap prices remained stable yesterday, and the market transactions were susbided. But the supply was still tight. The hydrometallurgical plants purchased via tender, and the traders were bullish towards the prices.
