This week's review of the lithium ore market situation

Published: Apr 19, 2024 17:57
Source: SMM
This week, the price of Leipidolite stabilized.

This week, the price of Leipidolite stabilized. The recent decline in lithium carbonate prices to some extent dragged down the prices of leipidolite. Some mining enterprises and traders have shown signs of wavering in their pricing stance, leading to a gradual stabilization of prices from the previous upward trend. In terms of actual supply and demand, with downstream smelting enterprises gradually obtaining environmental approvals and resuming production, there has been an increase in demand for leipidolite, which serves as a key raw material. With limited availability of leipidolite in the market, the demand side provides some support to leipidolite prices. In the short term, leipidolite price may continue to maintain a weak and stable trend.

This week, the price of spodumene remained relatively stable, with a slight decrease following the decline in lithium salt prices. However, due to the sufficient cash flow of overseas producing mines and their strong bargaining power, the prices of lithium ores have remained relatively stable despite the decline in lithium salt prices. Lithium salt factories on the feldspar end have seen some recovery in cost inversion situations, and their production rates are currently high. It is expected that lithium salt production on the feldspar end will increase by about 16% month-on-month in April. Major lithium salt factories have high coverage of long-term contracts and ample inventory, so there hasn't been any actual scarcity yet. It is expected that lithium ore prices will remain relatively stable in the short term.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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