[SMM Weekly Review] Weekly Market Trends of Lithium Ore from May 12 to May 15

At the beginning of this week, lithium ore prices continued to decline WoW. In terms of spodumene, on the supply side, despite some sentiment to stand firm on quotes from overseas mines, there was downward pressure on shipments, leading to a reduction in quoted prices. On the trading side, due to inventory pressure and capital turnover issues, quoted prices were also lowered. On the demand side, given the current low lithium chemicals prices, the downstream psychological price level continued to decline, resulting in weak purchase willingness for lithium ore priced above CIF USD 700/mt. Overall, amid the current fluctuations in the spot and futures markets for lithium carbonate, both sellers and buyers in the lithium ore market were mostly in a wait-and-see mood, with mediocre trading activity. Considering the changing trend of lithium carbonate and the recent cost reduction efforts of overseas lithium mines, there is an expectation that lithium ore prices will weaken to some extent.

On the lepidolite side, as lithium carbonate prices continue to decline, the price level that buyers can accept for lepidolite has also been decreasing, leading to a downward trend in quoted prices from traders and driving market prices down.