Lithium: The lithium ore prices were stable along with the relatively flat lithium carbonate futures prices. The downstream consumers rarely purchased from the spot market as they had sufficient in-plant stocks, with few inquiries. It is likely that the lithium ore prices will move at the current level in the near term. For lithium carbonate, the spot prices edged down, and there observed active bids and offers. But the players were generally wait-and-see. It is likely that the lithium carbonate 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 in lack of momentum primarily due to falling lithium carbonate prices. The NMC scrap transactions are likely to improve in the near term as the supply picked up slightly. And the LFP scrap transactions prices inched down as well.
