Lithium: The lithium ore prices were little changed recently as the lithium carbonate futures prices were less volatile than before. The transactions on the spot market were muted as well, with few inquiries. It is likely that the lithium ore prices will hover rangebound in the near term. For lithium carbonate, the spot prices pulled back yesterday, featuring rising bids and offers. But the current prices did not appeal the downstream players, hence the transactions were lackluster, with the traders' inventory accumulating constantly. It is projected that the lithium carbonate spot prices will keep rangebound in the short period.
Nickel: The demand did not show improvement still with poor transactions, and the quotations were mostly at Yuan 25,000-25,500/tonne. With the ternary cathode material factories reducing the production in November, the demand for nickel sulfate stood poor. Nevertheless, the firm nickel price will probably offer certain cost support to nickel sulfate.
Cobalt: With the cobalt chemicals market filled with bearish sentiment, the downstream players were especially cautious approaching the year-end. The producers slightly reduced the quotations on pressure, but refused to cut the prices significantly due to poor profits. Since the fundamentals did not change much, the spot prices of cobalt chemicals are likely to remain largely unchanged with occasional drops.
Battery scrap: The battery scrap prices remained inched down yesterday and the transactions were slow. Some LFP scrap traders were relatively active, while the payables of NMC and LCO black mass were stable. The bids of hydrometallurgical plants were not attractive for the sellers.
