Banter and general comments, page-7325

• Battery-grade lithium carbonate heard traded at Yuan 390,000/mt
• Spot activity winding down ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays

Chinese lithium carbonate prices continued to surge Jan. 21 on tight supply even though activity was thin as logistics wound down ahead of the Lunar New year holidays.

Battery-grade lithium carbonate was assessed up Yuan 25,000/mt week on week at Yuan 345,000/mt Jan. 21 on a delivered, duty-paid China basis, S&P Global Platts data showed.
A trade was heard done at Yuan 390,000/mt Jan. 20 for battery-grade lithium carbonate, with a producer source saying “any price was possible” given how tight supply was.
However, market sources said mainstream prices had yet to reach this level, with tradable levels largely pegged below Yuan 370,000/mt amid a dearth of offers.
Market tightness was expected to persist even after the Lunar New Year holidays due to demand far outpacing supply as lithium-iron-phosphate or LFP battery makers continue to expand capacity.
“Battery makers cannot afford to stop production at this stage where everyone is competing for market share,” a producer said.
“Even though prices are high, securing supply is still a greater concern for LFP makers,” a trader said.
Battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices also rose, with sporadic trades heard done between Yuan 290,000-300,000/mt in the week to Jan. 21, though market sources maintained that mainstream levels were lower, with offers heard around Yuan 280,000/mt Jan. 21.
Battery-grade lithium hydroxide was assessed up Yuan 20,000/mt week on week at Yuan 275,000/mt on a delivered, duty-paid China basis.
The spot market cooled throughout the week as logistics providers began shutting down operations ahead of the Lunar New Year.
“I think we’ll only start to see offers after the holidays when transport resumes,” a market source said.
“Many people have already stopped offering this week,” a Chinese trader said, adding: “We have experienced difficulties in securing transport in the past two days.”
Market sources remained bullish on salt prices as the supply-demand imbalance continues, with spot availability for spodumene heard to be increasingly scarce.
Spodumene concentrate with 6% lithium oxide content (SC6) was assessed at $3,100/mt FOB Australia Jan. 21, up $100/mt week on week.
Tradable values were heard in the range of $3,000-$3,500/mt, driven by rallying lithium salt prices and a lack of new production in the first half of 2022, with many sources saying they were hearing practically no offers in the spot market.