Weekly Review of the Lithium Carbonate Market: Lithium Carbonate Prices Continue to Rise [SMM Weekly Review]

Lithium carbonate prices continued to rise this week. The average price of SMM battery-grade lithium carbonate increased from 99,000 yuan/mt at the beginning of the week (December 22) to 104,900 yuan/mt on Thursday (December 25), a cumulative increase of 5,900 yuan/mt, with a weekly gain of nearly 6%. The average price of industrial-grade lithium carbonate rose from 96,350 yuan/mt to 102,250 yuan/mt, also up by 5,900 yuan/mt. The price range for the most-traded futures contract widened from 109,000-116,500 yuan/mt at the start of the week to 114,200-122,500 yuan/mt on Thursday, with intraday gains once exceeding 8%.

In terms of actual market transactions, most upstream lithium chemical plants prioritized fulfilling long-term agreements, resulting in limited spot order activity. Downstream material plants generally adopted a cautious wait-and-see approach toward the current high prices, with procurement still focused on rigid demand and additional volumes under long-term customer supply agreements, adjusted according to next month’s production schedule to control the purchasing pace. Overall, trading activity in the spot lithium carbonate market was minimal.