Lithium: The lithium ore prices dropped across the board, and the downstream players were increasingly wait-and-see. There rarely heard any new transactions, and the market remained oversupplied. It is likely that the lithium ore prices will remain under pressure. For lithium carbonate, the futures prices hovered low, and the market bids and offers were not active. The transactions were lackluster, and the market players were unable to reach an agreement on the prices. It is estimated that the lithium carbonate prices will remain soft in the short period.
Nickel: The prices of intermediates were high during the negotiations of Q4 long-term orders, squeezing the profits of nickel sulfate. Meanwhile, the nickel sulfate smelters mostly held low inventory after they reduced the production earlier. Hence the smelters raised their quotations extensively. But the downstream players did not accept such price hike. Nevertheless, the traditional seasonal high in September is likely to offer certain support to nickel sulfate prices, but the momentum will be limited due to soft demand.
Cobalt: The cobalt sulfate producers struggled to break even on high raw material cost, and most producers refused to ship when the prices were below Yuan 28,000/t. But the end-market was flat still, forcing the nickel sulfate producers to lower the prices. For cobalt chloride, the quotations were resilient, and the producers mostly delivered the previous orders. The downstream players were cautious on the whole. The transactions were lackluster.
Battery scrap: The lithium-ion battery scrap prices were stable yesterday. The NMC black mass was in short supply as it appealed the hydrometallurgical plants for low prices of metals salts. The payables varied between 75.5-76.5% subject to the content of valuable elements. The transactions of LFP battery scrap were mostly production waste.
Repurposing: The transactions on the repurposing market were poor. The slowing downstream demand made it hard for the traders to detsock. And the existing demand was for certain brands, and the second-tier brands could hardly find a buyer.
