SMM

In April 2024, with the continuous rise in ore prices, the cost support for high-purity manganese sulphate kept increasing. Coupled with some companies planning to halt production for maintenance, the market supply decreased accordingly. With limited inventory and existing demand, customers accepted the sentiment to stand firm on quotes from manganese salt plants, leading to a continuous rise in spot prices of high-purity manganese sulphate, followed by a high-level consolidation. In June, due to varying degrees of decline in raw material ore and sulphuric acid prices, cost support weakened, and the motivation for high-purity manganese sulphate companies to stand firm on quotes diminished. Meanwhile, downstream demand remained sluggish, and market trading sentiment was relatively quiet. Affected by both cost and demand factors, the price of high-purity manganese sulphate struggled to stabilize and began to decline. In October, the price of sulphuric acid on the raw material side declined again, further weakening cost support. At the same time, downstream market demand was weak, with few new orders. In this unfavorable situation, most high-purity manganese sulphate companies chose to reduce or halt production, leading to a decrease in the market operating rate. To cope with the high-cost pressure caused by low operating rates, high-purity manganese sulphate companies started to stand firm on quotes, pushing up spot prices in the market. In November, due to environmental protection inspections carried out earlier in Guangxi, some high-purity manganese sulphate companies experienced short-term production halts, reducing market supply accordingly. Downstream ternary cathode precursor companies mainly relied on long-term contract procurement, with fewer spot orders, and overall demand remained weak. Additionally, some ternary cathode precursor companies had relatively complete self-supply systems, reducing their demand for high-purity manganese sulphate. Against the backdrop of weakened demand, the spot prices of high-purity manganese sulphate continued to decline, compressing the profit margins of companies.