Lithium Carbonate and Lithium Hydroxide Prices still in Downturn

SHANGHAI, Jan 16 (SMM) - Lithium carbonate prices continued to fall last week. After lowering their prices continuously, smelters began to take a wait-and-see stance and were not eager to sell at lower prices. Cathode active material (CAM) plants have suspended their purchases before the Chinese New Year (CNY) and expected lithium carbonate prices to go down further. Some CAM plants have already been closed for the CNY holiday. Some traders dumped their battery-grade lithium carbonate inventories, while others took the CNY break in advance. Lithium carbonate prices are forecast to stabilise or drop slightly this week amid scarce trades. 

Lithium hydroxide prices fell further last week. The top-tier smelters still focused on exports. The domestic and overseas prices both declined amid faltering demand. The prices of top-tier smelters fell less sharply than those of second-tier ones. As CAM plants held back from buying amid bearish sentiment and lithium carbonate prices kept falling, lithium hydroxide prices declined steadily. Lithium hydroxide prices are likely to stabilise or drop slightly amid muted transactions in the last week before the CNY holiday.