- China’s battery-grade lithium carbonate
price hit a 14-month high on reduced spot supply, with most
producers insisting on higher prices.
- China’s industrial-grade lithium carbonate
prices rose further while buyers found it hard to get spot
material due to tight supply.
- China’s lithium hydroxide prices surged as a
result of low availability of cheap materials.
- The Asian industry-grade lithium spot market similar
increased on tight supply.
China’s battery-grade lithium carbonate prices
surged due to producers’ limited availability of
spot materials while most buyers were cautious of higher prices
and only purchased small volumes for immediate need, sources
said.
Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for
lithium carbonate, 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot price
range exw domestic China was 54,000-60,000 yuan
($8,343-9,270) per tonne on Thursday January 14, up 5.6% from
50,000-58,000 yuan per tonne the previous week. The market was
trading at its highest since November 7, 2019, when it stood at
54,000-57,000 yuan per tonne.
"Currently, most producers are offering battery-grade
lithium carbonate above 60,000 yuan per tonne, and I hear
offers at 63,000-65,000 yuan per tonne as well. But
we’re in no hurry to purchase materials and will
monitor the market and restart purchases after
China’s Lunar New Year in late February," a buyer
told Fastmarkets.
Market participants said offers in China’s
technical and industrial-grade lithium carbonate market move up
to 55,000-60,000 yuan per tonne, but most producers had no
material for spot sales.
Fastmarkets assessed the Chinese technical and
industrial-grade lithium carbonate spot price at 45,000-52,000
yuan per tonne on Thursday, rising from 42,000-48,000 yuan per
tonne on January 8.
The battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices significantly
increased this week with most cheap materials disappearing on
the spot market, sources said, adding that most producers
pushed offer prices above 50,000 yuan per tonne due to falling
stocks.
Fastmarkets’ lithium hydroxide monohydrate, 56.5%
LiOH.H2O min, battery grade, spot price range exw domestic
China was at 46,000-50,000 yuan per tonne on Thursday
January 14, up from 41,000-46,000 yuan per tonne the previous
week following eight weeks of stability.
Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have gradually surpassed
hydroxide prices since early December last year. The price gap
widened amid increasing appetite for carbonate from cathode
makers and flat demand from the high-nickel ternary sector,
sources said.
After lingering in a low-price environment for eight weeks,
however, downstream buyers started to restock more material
after the continuous surge on carbonate. Most producers
basically sold out most of their accumulated stocks for
hydroxide late last year so started to push up prices as well,
Fastmarkets heard.
"We basically have no material on hand because most
hydroxide has been sold out. Current offer prices are all above
50,000 yuan per tonne and supply is tight," a producer
said.
Asian seaborne industrial-grade lithium carbonate
prices up
Asian industrial-grade lithium spot prices moved up this week
with cheaper material hard to acquire, trading sources
said.
Fastmarkets assessed the lithium carbonate 99% Li2CO3 min,
technical and industrial-grade, spot price cif China, Japan and
Korea at $6-7 per kg on Thursday January 14, up from $5.50-6.50
per kg the week before.
"Most suppliers have sold out of their industrial-grade
lithium carbonate due to increasing demand from buyers, but
it’s hard to get spot material if buyers
don’t have fixed contracts," a trader said.
The battery-grade lithium spot market, cif China, Japan and
Korea, was quiet and most prices were rangebound due to thin
trades, sources said.
Fastmarkets assessed the
lithium carbonate, 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot
price at $6-7.50 per kg on a cif China, Japan and Korea
basis on Thursday January 14, unchanged week on week.
Fastmarkets’
seaborne battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate, 56.5%
LiOH.H2O min, battery grade, spot price, cif China, Japan and
Korea was assessed at $8.50-9.50 per kg on Thursday,
unchanged from a week ago.
"Currently China’s market is very bullish but I
haven’t seen a significant impact on spot prices
in Asia so far because spot trading is still limited," a
distributor said.
Battery-grade lithium carbonate rebounds on tighter
spot availability
The Europe, US battery-grade lithium carbonate spot market
widened up with strength from the technical-grade carbonate
equivalent filtering through amid tighter availability in the
carbonate complex, sources said.
Battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices, however, remained
steady while spot demand in Europe and the United States for
the battery raw material remains marginal.
Fastmarkets' latest price assessment for
lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot price
ddp Europe and US was $7.50-9 per kg on Thursday January
14, up from $7.50-8.50 per kg the previous session. The last
time the assessment stood at $7.50-9 per kg was on September
17, historical pricing data showed.
Fastmarkets' latest price assessment for
lithium hydroxide monohydrate 56.5% LiOH.H2O min, battery
grade, spot price ddp Europe and US was $9-11 per kg on
Thursday January 14, unchanged for seven consecutive
sessions.
Meanwhile, spot prices for lithium technical and
industrial-grade in Europe and the US continue to increase amid
tighter supply and the rising domestic Chinese prices.
Fastmarkets assessed the
lithium carbonate 99% Li2CO3 min, technical and industrial
grades, spot price ddp Europe and US at $6.50-8 per kg on
January 14, up from $6.50-7.50 per kg the previous week.
"Customers are asking different suppliers to get a better
price, that or some of them can’t get the
quantities they need so they’re try with other
suppliers. We’ve been seeing this lately either
because of the price [increases] or a lack of availability," a
seller of lithium compounds active in Europe said.
Learn more about Fastmarkets’
lithium pricing methodology here and read the latest
lithium price spotlight here.
Fastmarkets’ trade log for battery-grade lithium
carbonate in China for January includes all trades, bids
and offers reported to Fastmarkets.
All lithium carbonate, hydroxide and spodumene prices are
available in our Battery Raw Materials Market Tracker. Get a sample
of the report here.
(This article was updated to amend the third paragraph
which, when originally published, erroneously stated that the
lithium carbonate exw domestic China price was trading at its
highest level since November 2020. This should have been
November 2019.)