Weekly Overview of Lithium Carbonate Market: Prices Rebound, Tug-of-War Between Sellers and Buyers Continues [SMM Weekly Review]

This week, the spot lithium carbonate market exhibited a fluctuating trend, first declining and then rising. The center of transaction prices shifted slightly higher WoW, but the overall market remained constrained by the fundamental pattern of oversupply, with no significant easing of the supply-demand imbalance. At the beginning of the week, the market continued its previous weakness, with the average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate falling below the 60,000 yuan/mt threshold, and the price of industrial-grade lithium carbonate also declining simultaneously. Downstream cathode material enterprises maintained just-in-time procurement, and the market trading atmosphere remained sluggish. Despite occasional unverified rumors disturbing the futures market during this period, under the pressure of high inventory levels, spot prices continued to fluctuate at lows.

Entering the mid-to-late week, lithium carbonate prices stopped declining and rebounded. The slight rebound in the futures market had a certain driving effect on the spot market, leading to a slight upward shift in the center of point-priced transactions based on futures prices. The average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate gradually rebounded to around 60,600 yuan/mt. However, the price rebound was not accompanied by substantive improvements in demand. Downstream material enterprises still adopted a cautious procurement strategy, preferring to lock in costs by increasing long-term agreement volumes to mitigate the risk of price fluctuations. On the supply side, market liquidity remained abundant. Leading lithium chemical plants maintained relatively firm quotes due to support from long-term agreement orders, while some small and medium-sized producers, affected by inventory pressure, had a strong willingness to sell, resulting in a differentiated market quotation landscape.

Overall, the tug-of-war between longs and shorts in the lithium carbonate market intensified this week. Prices showed certain resilience after approaching the cost line, but the supply-demand imbalance remained the main factor suppressing market trends.