This week, the prices of consumer-grade 5-series, 6-series, and power-grade 8-series ternary cathode precursors remained unchanged from last week.
In terms of raw materials, the prices of nickel sulphate, cobalt sulphate, and manganese sulphate remained stable. Demand side, due to downstream control of finished product inventories, the overall demand for ternary cathode materials weakened in December. Looking ahead to January, the production demand for ternary cathode materials is expected to remain sluggish. Supply side, the production of leading ternary cathode precursor companies increased slightly, with an overall industry production growth of about 1% MoM. In January, production is expected to see a significant pullback due to weak downstream demand, the Chinese New Year holiday, and production line maintenance by some major companies.
Price forecast for the market. Cost side, nickel sulphate prices are expected to remain stable, while cobalt sulphate and manganese sulphate may have room for downward adjustments. As a result, the prices of various ternary cathode precursor series may experience declines to varying degrees. Among them, high-nickel products are likely to see relatively smaller decreases, while low-nickel products may face more significant price adjustments.
