Lithium: The lithium smelters were increasingly cautious on purchasing lithium ore in the face of volatile lithium prices recently. The lithium ore traders were slightly less firm to the prices, and were more inclined to sell or process the lithium ore into lithium carbonate. The transactions on the market were mostly with long-term orders, and it is expected that the lithium ore prices will remain flat in the near term. For lithium carbonate the spot prices of battery grade lithium carbonate edged up, and the futures prices rose as well, which lifted the traders' quotations. The smelters held the prices firm still, and the downstream material factories stood wait-and-see, with fewer transactions. It is projected that the lithium carbonate prices will move rangebound in the near term.
Nickel: The MHP supply in Indonesia rose rapidly, leading to rising nickel sulfate supply in China in the future. Meanwhile, some integrated producers sold nickel sulfate, further booming the nickel sulfate supply. While the end-market demand recovered slowly, the downstream inquiries were relatively active ahead of the Labor Day holiday, supporting the nickel prices. It is likely that the nickel sulfate prices will remain flat at present, and then begin to fall when the supply starts to pick up.
Cobalt: The bids for cobalt sulfate dropped to around Yuan 30,000/tonne amid constantly falling overseas cobalt prices and lackluster downstream demand. The top-tier smelters insisted on Yuan 31,500/tonne, and the transactions were muted. The market players were generally bearish on falling raw material prices.
Battery scrap: The battery black mass market was relatively quiet yesterday, without many transactions but certain inquiries. The buyers and sellers were still in tug-of-war. Some small-sized black mass producers were closed due to environmental protection inspections.
Repurposing: The transactions on the repurposing market were subsided yesterday, and the orders from the energy storage sector were mostly taken by large traders. Nevertheless, the consumer electronics and outdoor energy storage sectors performed moderately as a whole.