Argentina eyes eight new lithium projects, double output by 2030

The settlement mechanism for LFP is evolving, but the “lithium + phosphoric acid” dual linkage covers only a portion of costs and carries structural flaws such as process mismatch and lagging price references. SMM believes the industry should move directly to the ultimate “lithium carbonate + iron phosphate” solution. The SMM iron phosphate price is a settlement benchmark recognized by both upstream and downstream players.

An official from the Department of Consumption Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce commented on China's consumer market in May 2026. As China's consumer market undergoes structural optimization and upgrading, household consumption is shifting from being dominated by goods to a balance of goods and services. From January to May, total retail sales of social consumer goods and services increased by 2.8% YoY (the same hereinafter); total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 20.6 trillion, up 1.4%, of which retail sales of consumer goods excluding automobiles grew 2.7%; and service retail sales rose 5.4%. In May, the domestic retail penetration rate of NEVs reached 62.9%, setting a new record high. Big data from the Ministry of Commerce shows that from January to May, sales of smart glasses on key platforms grew 2.8 times, sales of handheld photography equipment increased 24.2%, sales of smart blood glucose meters rose 14.7%, and sales of organic food were up 3.6%.

In May 2026, China’s unwrought cobalt imports were approximately 673 mt, down 50% MoM and up 3% YoY; unwrought cobalt exports were approximately 370 mt, up 70% MoM and down 88% YoY.