Spodumene Prices, page-1511

• Hydroxide prices rise on increasing raw materials costs
• Lithium carbonate-hydroxide price gap narrows
• Rise in Chinese LFP battery production lifts lithium prices

The price for battery-grade lithium carbonate reached a new high for the year at Yuan 190,000/mt Oct. 15. Battery-grade lithium hydroxide took its cue from the price rally to reach a similar high of Yuan 185,000/mt DDP China.

Market sources attributed the main driver of the upward momentum in lithium prices to tight supplies exacerbated by the ongoing power restrictions in China, as well as bullish downstream demand from the new electric vehicles sector.
Power restrictions continued to limit production for lithium converters as well as downstream cathode makers across China.
“Although a very small number of our productions are completely shut down, a part of our battery orders will be postponed to Q1 next year,” said a China-based battery maker.
Ganfeng Lithium -- one of China’s largest lithium producers -- announced that it will be increasing lithium metal price by 10%, or Yuan 10,000/mt, from Oct. 10 to Nov. 9 due to rising production costs amid the power restrictions.
Within the domestic market, lithium hydroxide was marketed at a lower price compared with lithium carbonate. The negative spread between lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide narrowed to Yuan 5,000/mt Oct. 15 from the widest gap seen at Yuan 18,000/mt March 19.
The increasing price of industrial-grade lithium carbonate feedstock also drove the battery-grade lithium hydroxide prices up in the week to Oct. 15.
Offers for industrial-grade lithium carbonate were heard in the range of Yuan 175,000-185,000/mt Oct. 15.
Some market participants said that the inverted spread is likely to stay for the time being due to the stronger demand for lithium carbonate in the spot market compared to lithium hydroxide. Part of the reason was the increasing popularity of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries compared to nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) lithium-ion batteries.
According to China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance's data, LFP batteries make up 58.3% of total production volumes in September, while NCM batteries accounted for 41.6%.
Market sources said that in the long run, lithium hydroxide will gradually return to trading at a premium to lithium carbonate, closer to the current seaborne market dynamics.
Battery-grade lithium carbonate was heard traded at Yuan 190,000/mt Oct. 14, said a Chinese consumer source, with several sources reporting tradable levels between Yuan 185,000-195,000/mt.
Mainstream offers were heard at Yuan 190,000/mt Oct. 15, with some offers surpassing Yuan 200,000/mt, said a Chinese producer source. “Supply is still the main issue, causing people to panic,” he added.
Meanwhile, tradable values for battery grade lithium hydroxide were heard at Yuan 180,000-190,000/mt Oct. 15, with very few trades being concluded at this level, said a China-based trader source.
Looking forward, prices for lithium chemistries are expected to remain supported by the persistent shortage of supply, market sources said.
Spodumene concentrate with 6% lithium oxide content (SC6) was assessed at $2,444/mt FOB Australia Oct. 15, unchanged from Oct. 8. Few offers were heard for spodumene amid scarce spot supplies.