According to the data monitored by the business community, the prices of industrial grade and battery grade lithium carbonate in December showed a downward trend, and the prices kept falling. As of December 31, the average domestic mixed price of industrial lithium carbonate was 504000 yuan/ton, down 11.73% compared with the average price of 571000 yuan/ton on December 1. On December 31, the average domestic mixed price of battery grade lithium carbonate was 525000 yuan/ton, a decrease of 10.56% compared with the average price of 587000 yuan/ton on December 1.

Market supply

From the observation of market changes, the overall price of lithium carbonate in December was in a downward trend. Lithium salt plants on the market are still dominated by long-term associations, with a small number of spot transactions. In early December, the news that Yongxing Materials temporarily stopped production due to its cooperation with the local environmental protection investigation received the attention of insiders. It is understood that the main investigated areas are Shanggao, Gao’an, Yifeng, etc. Among them, Yongxing New Energy, Tiancheng Lithium and Linneng Lithium have announced the temporary shutdown of lithium carbonate smelting enterprises, which will have a certain impact on the overall production of lithium carbonate in December.

In late December, the price decline of lithium carbonate continued to expand, and the price of large lithium salt plants was slightly adjusted. Some of them were sold in stock, and the sentiment of price fixing was strong. With the completion of the annual sales plan, we did not need to rush out the individual orders, and started to sign the long-term agreement order for next year. However, traders have strong bearish sentiment, so the selling sentiment is heavy, and the transaction price keeps falling.

Demand side

The purchase intention price of downstream Sanyuan and iron lithium plants has been continuously lowered, and the purchase intensity has been reduced. The downstream market tends to be cautious about raw materials and inventory preparation, market demand sentiment and expected price are weak, and the downstream and terminal markets are basically in the state of digesting inventory, so the downward trend of lithium carbonate price is clear. With the approaching of the Spring Festival holiday, the positive pole factory generally reported that the order was reduced, and said that unless necessary, it might not plan to purchase before the year.

The market of lithium hydroxide in the downstream is weak. Due to the downward trend of lithium carbonate, the demand side is slightly weak, the trading atmosphere in the spot market is flat, and the market of lithium hydroxide is falling. In addition, the positive pole factory said that it was unnecessary to purchase goods and continued to be bearish on the future market price, so the price of lithium hydroxide decreased.

The price of lithium iron phosphate in the downstream is weak. With the price of electric carbon and industrial carbon at the raw material end entering the downward cycle, the downstream is increasingly wait-and-see, and there is little purchase. All of them mainly consume the early inventory or prepare for mining on demand. The decrease in demand also led to a significant decline in the shipment of iron lithium enterprises in December.

According to lithium carbonate analysts from the business community, the current market continues to be bearish on the price of lithium salt. At the critical moment of signing the 2023 long order at the end of the year, the game between salt plants and material plants continues. In terms of traders, the quotation continues to decline, and a small number of low price spot transactions continue to drive the market price to gradually lower. It is expected that the short-term lithium carbonate price will continue to be weak.