- Lithium prices in China rise on active restocking while
supply remains tight
- Seaborne Asian lithium prices tick up on persisting tight
availability
- European and US prices post further gains on firm prices
for technical-grade material
Battery-grade lithium prices in the domestic Chinese market
moved up against a backdrop of active restocking among
consumers while suppliers managed to translate previous offer
increases into sales of decent sized cargoes.
Fastmarkets assessed the
lithium hydroxide monohydrate 56.5% LiOH.H2O min, battery
grade, spot price range exw domestic China at 73,000-78,000
yuan ($11,114-11,418) per tonne on April 1, up by 3,000 yuan
per tonne (4.1%) from 70,000-75,000 yuan per tonne a week
earlier.
Fastmarkets’ assessment for the
lithium carbonate, 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot price
range exw domestic China rose to 88,000-92,000 yuan per
tonne on April 1, up by 2,000-3,000 yuan per tonne (2.9%) from
85,000-90,000 yuan per tonne in the prior week.
Downstream demand remained robust while suppliers were
reluctant to make large-tonnage sales, wary of rising lithium
feedstock prices.
Fastmarkets’ price assessment for
spodumene 6% Li2O min, cif China climbed to $620-700 per
tonne on April 1, up by $120-180 per tonne (29.4%) from
$500-520 per tonne on February 24.
"It is not easy to secure sizable lithium hydroxide cargoes
when suppliers are reluctant to sell," a consumer said.
"In March, producers were not willing to make large sales
because supply is quite tight; moving into April, they are
increasingly less willing to sell because of the rapid rally of
spodumene price," the consumer added.
Asian seaborne market underpinned on tight
supply
Similarly, the Asian seaborne lithium market witnessed some
fresh price gains this past week, with consumers in the region
battling with tight availability.
Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment of the
lithium carbonate, 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot price
cif China, Japan and Korea was $10-11.50 per kg on April 1,
up by $0.50 per kg (4.9%) from $9.50-11 per kg a week
earlier.
Fastmarkets’ assessment of the
lithium hydroxide monohydrate 56.5% LiOH.H2O min, battery
grade, spot price cif China, Japan & Korea rose to
$11-12.50 per kg on April 1, widening upward by $0.50 per kg
from $11-12 per kg in the week prior.
Market participants continued to acknowledge that supply for
lithium carbonate is more challenging than lithium hydroxide,
while suppliers have been eyeing the rally of lithium carbonate
prices in China.
"The overall supply tightness is derived from the squeezed
spodumene supply from Australia," a trader said. "Among all,
supply tightness for lithium carbonate is most acute."
While the majority of consumers in the region usually secure
the supply via long-term contracts, a consumer source told
Fastmarkets it was increasingly difficult to contract
additional cargoes for both products at present.
European, US lithium hydroxide prices post further
gains
European and US lithium battery-grade spot prices continued to
rise in the week to April 1 amid ongoing firmness in the
technical-grade equivalent and tight supply globally.
Fastmarkets assessed the
lithium hydroxide monohydrate 56.5% LiOH.H2O min, battery
grade, spot price ddp Europe and US at $12-13.50 per kg on
April 1, narrowing upward by $0.50 per kg from $11.50-13.50 per
kg a week earlier and recording the third consecutive weekly
gain.
Technical-grade lithium spot prices remained steady while some
market sources predicted the firmness will continue in the
coming months.
Fastmarkets assessed the
lithium carbonate 99% Li2CO3 min, technical and industrial
grades, spot price ddp Europe and US at $9.50-11 per kg on
April 1, unchanged for four consecutive weeks.
The assessment for the
lithium hydroxide monohydrate 56.5% LiOH.H2O min, technical and
industrial grades, spot price ddp Europe and US stood at
$10.50-11.50 per kg on April 1, unchanged week on week.
"Availability especially for [lithium] carbonate is really bad;
[there is] no product in the market and the last units could be
sold at extremely high prices," an upstream market source
said.
"I don’t feel the shortage has disappeared…
Prices have stabilized but they will eventually pick up again,"
a distributor 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 March 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.