According to the monitoring of the commodity market analysis system of Business Society, the prices of industrial grade and battery grade lithium carbonate continued to decline this week. On December 14th, the average domestic mixed price of industrial grade lithium carbonate was 102400 yuan/ton, a decrease of 6.91% compared to the average price of 110000 yuan/ton on December 10th. On December 14th, the average domestic mixed price of battery grade lithium carbonate was 112600 yuan/ton, a decrease of 5.7% compared to the average price of 119400 yuan/ton on December 10th.

By observing market changes, it can be seen that lithium carbonate has maintained a weak downward trend this week, with prices continuing to decline, while lithium carbonate futures prices have fallen and turned up again on the 13th. In terms of supply, most lithium salt factories in the market still rely on long-term cooperative shipments. With the continuous decline in prices, a few lithium salt enterprises with smaller production capacity have stopped production for maintenance due to losses, reduced OEM volume, and other factors. However, domestic lithium salt enterprises with a relatively large scale are currently maintaining a stable production state and have no maintenance plans in the short term. According to data statistics, the domestic production of lithium carbonate in November was 43093 tons, a month on month increase of 7% and a year-on-year increase of 18%.

In terms of demand, due to downstream battery cell companies gradually cutting orders and reducing quantities of positive electrode materials, coupled with the continuous decline in lithium carbonate spot prices, the overall purchase volume of downstream positive electrode materials has significantly decreased, with few zero order transactions, and the pace of long-term cooperative pickup has gradually slowed down. This has led to significant pressure on some salt companies to ship, and the market has poor expectations for future demand, resulting in a downward trend in the overall market quotation and transaction focus.

The price of lithium hydroxide is showing a downward trend. Due to the continuous decline in the upstream industrial grade lithium carbonate market, the price of lithium pyroxene concentrate in the upstream is weak, and the cost side continues to decline. The mentality of the industry is insufficient, and the enthusiasm of downstream inquiries is average. The focus of negotiations in the lithium hydroxide market is weak, and the market trading atmosphere is light.

The downstream price of lithium iron phosphate is declining, with insufficient downstream demand and high inventory levels. Manufacturers are operating under pressure, and overall market consumption is slow. A pessimistic attitude is evident. Downstream replenishment is mainly based on demand, with main supply to contracted customers and overcapacity. The lithium battery market has a strong wait-and-see atmosphere.

In terms of futures, the trading of lithium carbonate futures ended on December 13th, with a rapid reversal at the end of the trading day, and the limit up was reached from the moment of decline. On December 14th, the main contract of lithium carbonate futures continued its upward trend. On December 14th, the opening price of the LC2407 main contract was 104600 yuan/ton, with the highest price of 105450 yuan/ton and the latest price of 102550 yuan/ton, with a daily increase of 8.58%. The transaction volume was 888900 lots and the position was 161651 lots.

According to analysts from Shengyishe Lithium Carbonate, the current lithium carbonate futures market has significant fluctuations and price reversals, but its impact on the overall spot market is relatively limited. However, the fundamentals of excess supply and demand in the market remain unchanged, and coupled with the difficulty of increasing demand from downstream cathode material enterprises, it is expected that the spot price of lithium carbonate will continue to operate weakly in the short term.