Lithium hydroxide smelters who adopt causticizing process suffer severe losses

For the week ending November 2, there a decline in lithium hydroxide prices amid slack supply and demand. Demand for high-nickel battery materials remains weak. The ongoing dip in lithium salt prices has led major downstream ternary cathode precursor manufacturers to make infrequent purchases, favoring long-term contracts instead. This has resulted in fewer market inquiries and transactions. On the supply front, the continued price drop of lithium hydroxide below that of lithium carbonate has inflicted significant losses on manufacturers using the causticizing process. Consequently, many have ceased or scaled back production.