The price of negative electrode materials ushers in an increase.

In March, the price of mid - end artificial graphite negative electrode materials was 27,500 yuan per ton, increasing by 3,000 - 4,000 yuan per ton, with a growth rate of 17%. The mainstream price of low - end artificial graphite was 20,000 yuan per ton, rising by 2,500 yuan per ton, with a growth rate of 14.3%. This price increase is mainly concentrated in mid - and low - end products. The main reason is that mid - and low - end products mostly use petroleum coke as raw materials, and the price of petroleum coke soared in February, causing a serious inversion of profits for mid - and low - end products.

Since March, the price of low - sulfur petroleum coke has begun to decline. However, the production cycle of negative electrode materials has a certain lag. Therefore, most of the current market products are produced from high - priced raw materials in February. So although the price of negative electrode materials has recovered, negative electrode enterprises that use high - priced raw materials in February are still in a loss state. In the week ending March 17, the profit of mid - end artificial graphite negative electrodes was at a loss of 2,470 yuan per ton, and the profit was restored by 835 yuan per ton. Unless the negative electrode factories digest the inventories of low - priced raw materials in the early stage, the loss situation will be minimized.

The overall output of negative electrode materials in March will increase month - on - month. However, at present, the start - up situations of negative electrode enterprises are different, and some enterprises have shown a slight reduction in start - up. Mainly because of the high rise in raw material costs and the hindrance of product price increases, the production pace has been slightly slowed down. This month, the downstream demand for negative electrode materials is stable and improving. It is expected that with the reasonable return of the price of negative electrode materials this time, the output of negative electrode materials will also increase. In addition, the price of petroleum coke has recently shown a downward trend, and the cost pressure on negative electrode enterprises has been somewhat alleviated.

Overall, battery enterprises are still emphasizing the idea of reducing costs and increasing efficiency, and the price of negative electrode materials is slowly adjusting. The idea of negative electrode enterprises to expand market share by producing differentiated products and reducing costs and increasing efficiency in processes will not change.