[SMM Analysis] "Good Times Don't Last Long" Lithium Carbonate Prices Continue to Decline

SMM, Oct 21: Last week, the SMM battery-grade lithium carbonate index price fell from 75,550 yuan/mt to 73,505 yuan/mt, a decrease of 2,045 yuan/mt; the average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate dropped from 75,850 yuan/mt to 73,650 yuan/mt, a decrease of 2,200 yuan/mt; the average price of industrial-grade lithium carbonate fell from 71,700 yuan/mt to 69,500 yuan/mt, a decrease of 2,200 yuan/mt. The price center of lithium carbonate spot market transactions continues to move downward.

Market sentiment last week: Upstream lithium chemical smelters shipped frequently before the National Day, alleviating inventory pressure to some extent. At the current price point, the willingness to sell is not strong, maintaining a relatively strong sentiment to stand firm on quotes, with limited price reductions. Influenced by macro sentiment, futures prices have dropped significantly. Although downstream material plants currently have no intention of stocking up, there have been instances of buying on dips. Overall, this has led to a continuous decline in lithium carbonate spot prices last week.

Although downstream demand in October is expected to remain relatively optimistic, considering that most stocking up was completed before the National Day, the current intention to stock up is not strong. It is expected that lithium carbonate spot prices will continue to decline in the near future.