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 SMM battery-grade lithium carbonate average price increased by 6,100 yuan/mt on Monday (December 29) to 118,000 yuan/mt, then stabilized over the next two days, edging up by 500 yuan/mt to 118,500 yuan/mt on Wednesday (December 31), with the weekly price center holding steady at a high of 118,000 yuan/mt. Industrial-grade lithium carbonate followed a similar trend, with the average price rising from 109,250 yuan/mt to 115,500 yuan/mt. Futures market volatility intensified, with the most-traded contract trading in the range of 115,400-124,400 yuan/mt and hitting the downside limit on December 29, with an intraday decline exceeding 8%.

Market trading activity eased slightly compared to the previous period. Upstream lithium chemical plants continued to prioritize fulfilling long-term contract orders, leaving limited spot order supply. Downstream material plants generally remained cautious, mainly maintaining production through long-term contracts and customer-supplied channels. However, when futures prices pulled back, some enterprises made purchases and restocked due to rigid demand, leading to a slight improvement in overall market trading activity compared to previous weeks.