Lithium: The lithium carbonate smelters in Jiangxi Province resumed the purchasing of lithium ore, boosting the prices of lepidolite. Currently, the lithium ore sellers were willing to hike the prices, but the downstream players were unwilling to accept the high prices, leading to few transactions. It is expected that the lithium ore prices will still inch up. For lithium carbonate, the spot prices rose yesterday, but some smelters either held the prices firm or refrained from making quotations. The spot supply of industrial grade lithium carbonate remained tight, and the price spread between battery grade and industrial grade lithium carbonate narrowed further. It is expected that the lithium carbonate prices will move in a narrow range in the near term.
Nickel: The spot MHP supply was still tight, keeping the nickel sulfate cost firm. However, some sellers started to lower the prices in the face of falling nickel prices recently and expected rising MHP production in April. Nevertheless, the smelters were generally firm to the prices at present in light of high cost.
Cobalt: The cobalt market was finding direction at present in lack of bullish or bearish news. The raw material suppliers started to lower the prices in this case, with some low-priced transactions heard. The downstream players still purchased on demand.
Battery scrap: The battery black mass market was stable at present. Some hydrometallurgical plants slowed the purchases and stood on the sidelines approaching the Qingming Festival. There were few transactions as the bids and offers differed greatly.
Repurposing: The transactions on the repurposing market were flat yesterday. The selling of retired battery cells was mostly in small amount as the brands were diversified. The B grade ternary battery cells were relatively more popular.
