Lithium Ore:
This week, the price of leipidolite has seen a slight increase. From the perspective of market supply and demand, the overall production of mines in Jiangxi Province has been relatively sluggish, resulting in limited market circulation. However, with the gradual fading of the impact of environmental inspections in Jiangxi, some downstream smelting enterprises have gradually obtained approval for resumption of production. It is expected that the pace of resumption of work and production will be initiated in the short term. Currently, most downstream smelting enterprises that rely on external mining have relatively low leipidolite inventory. With the initiation of the resumption of production process, some enterprises have slightly increased their demand for replenishing stock, driving a slight increase in leipidolite prices.
This week, the overall price of lithium spodumene concentrate has remained stable, but overseas prices have risen slightly due to several rounds of bidding. As this week's bidding prices for lithium mines by Albemarle and Sigma in Brazil were both higher than spot prices, some overseas lithium mining companies have actively explored and attempted new pricing mechanisms, attempting to decouple ore prices from domestic lithium salt prices. Currently, overseas mining companies remain enthusiastic about pushing up prices, with even provisional prices for formula pricing fluctuating around $1100. Looking at the situation of domestic lithium spodumene mines, although there has been a slight reduction in buyer inquiries and purchases this week, the scarcity of spot circulation in China has still prevented transaction prices from loosening. Currently, the majority of domestic lithium spodumene mine inventory still belongs to leading lithium salt manufacturers, and some traders holding spot goods tend to seek lithium carbonate processing due to low profits from directly selling lithium ore. Meanwhile, Albemarle's bidding prices have to some extent strengthened the pricing mentality of lithium ore holders. Therefore, transaction prices for domestic spot goods remain high as of Wednesday this week, resulting in fewer transactions. However, as the current price of lithium salt is beginning to weaken, it is expected that lithium ore prices will remain relatively stable in the short term.
Lithium Carbonate:
This week, lithium carbonate prices weakened. In early March, most domestic lithium salt companies gradually resumed normal production after maintenance, and the weekly output of domestic lithium carbonate returned to levels around November 23rd. With theoretical production profits, some lithium salt companies last week showed a slight relaxation in their willingness to support prices compared to the previous period of losses. Lithium carbonate exported from Chile to China has also been arriving at ports recently. These factors collectively supplement the liquidity of the domestic lithium carbonate spot market. With time, the previous scarcity of liquidity in the domestic lithium carbonate spot market is expected to be reversed. This week, lithium carbonate spot prices gradually weakened, with expectations of further weakening in subsequent prices. However, some lithium salt companies are showing renewed willingness to support prices. Although lithium salt companies do not have a high acceptance of recent increases in lithium ore prices, recent tenders by companies such as Albemarle indicate some acceptance of high-priced raw materials in the market, indirectly supporting lithium carbonate prices. It is expected that the volatility of lithium carbonate spot market prices will gradually decrease in the short term.
Lithium Hydroxide:
This week, lithium hydroxide prices experienced a slight decrease. Looking at the market situation, influenced by the decline in lithium carbonate prices, although there hasn't been a widespread reduction in quotations at the smelting end recently, some manufacturers' willingness to support prices and reluctance to sell have weakened. Quotations are generally concentrated in the range of 9.7-10, and the willingness of cathode manufacturers to receive goods has also been relatively passive recently, with tightening procurement. Except for a few companies, the intention for immediate procurement has significantly shifted downwards, with weaker acceptance of high prices, resulting in a slight downward shift in market focus.
Ternary Materials:
This week, ternary materials prices experienced a slight decrease. On the cost side, the decline in lithium prices has led to a reduction in the manufacturing cost of positive electrode materials. On the supply side, leading high-nickel ternary material manufacturers have benefited from the maintenance of an upward trend in new order volumes. Looking at the overall market situation, April still maintains an incremental state, but the month-on-month growth rate has slowed down. From the demand side, the incremental demand for high-nickel ternary materials from domestic leading battery cell manufacturers is limited, but there is also some adjustment to suppliers. Demand for medium-nickel materials is relatively good, while demand for low-nickel materials remains stable. The demand for ternary materials from secondary battery cell manufacturers has differentiated somewhat, with overall demand showing small to moderate growth, but recent weakness in ternary demand has been observed in some battery cell manufacturers due to the anticipated decline in annual sales by automakers. Regarding overseas battery cell demand, although the annual growth rate is limited, there is a seasonal small-scale recovery. In terms of future expectations, there is a possibility of slight fluctuations in ternary material prices along with metal prices.
Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP):
Recently, although lithium carbonate prices have eased somewhat, negotiations between iron lithium and lithium salt factories regarding discounts remain challenging. Regarding discounts on lithium iron phosphate cathodes, if downstream entities still seek to negotiate, the discount range is generally around 95-97%, but cathode manufacturers may correspondingly increase processing fees. If battery cell manufacturers accept conditions without discounts on lithium carbonate, cathode manufacturers may make certain concessions in processing fees. Orders in April have improved compared to March, with recovery seen in downstream energy storage and power markets. Some leading large factories are expected to experience significant growth. For those companies that did not meet production expectations in the first quarter, the second quarter will set up surge targets to compensate for previous shortfalls.
For more information, please contact: cathycai@smm.cn
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