When the expectation of lithium carbonate destocking was fulfilled, Albemarle announced that it would restart lithium carbonate auctions on September 4! [SMM Analysis]

SMM, September 3: According to Albemarle's official WeChat account, Albemarle will hold a new round of lithium carbonate tender event on the Metalshub platform from 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM on September 4. The specific products include a total of 200 mt of battery-grade lithium carbonate produced by Ronghui Lithium and Jicheng Lithium.
As is well known, since August 21, the spot price of domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate has seen a long-awaited slight rebound after a prolonged decline. Although the increase is not significant, it appears to have "improved" compared to the previous continuous decline, with prices fluctuating between 74,000 and 78,000 yuan/mt. On the trading days of August 30 and September 2, the spot price of lithium carbonate rose slightly compared to the previous trading days. After a cumulative increase of 400 yuan/mt, as of September 2, the spot price of battery-grade lithium carbonate rose to 73,100-76,200 yuan/mt, with an average price of 74,650 yuan/mt.
Regarding the reason for this "adjustment" in battery-grade lithium carbonate prices, SMM believes it is closely related to the weekly destocking of lithium carbonate and the surge in downstream cathode scheduled production. According to SMM's latest research, downstream material plants and battery cell manufacturers are currently in the stocking phase for the traditional peak season—"September-October peak season," with production schedules rising. On the upstream supply side, under the pressure of previous losses, some lithium salt smelters have continued to reduce production. Although the overall production of lithium salt smelters is relatively stable, the operating rate has shown a slight weakening trend. Therefore, in the context of slightly weakened supply and increased demand, lithium carbonate has seen a long-awaited weekly destocking.
According to SMM data, as of the week of August 30, the weekly inventory of lithium carbonate in survey sample decreased by 1,256 mt to 131,304 mt from 132,560 mt on August 22, marking the first destocking since the end of March.
Driven by this positive sentiment, some upstream lithium salt smelters have raised their quotations. The actual spot transaction prices of downstream enterprises with restock as needed demand have also slightly increased, leading to a rise in the spot price of battery-grade lithium carbonate. Currently, the price game between upstream and downstream enterprises is still ongoing.
It is worth mentioning that in the short term, if the production schedules of downstream material plants and battery cell manufacturers continue to improve, and the lithium salt smelters that have reduced or stopped production have not yet resumed production, the domestic supply of lithium carbonate may remain stable, which could provide some support or slight increase to the spot price of lithium carbonate. However, it should be noted that although the monthly surplus has narrowed to a tight balance, attention should also be paid to the cumulative inventory of lithium carbonate. From the perspective of long-term price trends, the actual supply-demand relationship should still be the main guide. Be rational!
As for the specific auction results of Albemarle's battery-grade lithium carbonate, let's wait and see!