According to the monitoring of the commodity market analysis system of Business Society, the prices of industrial grade and battery grade lithium carbonate are still in a downward trend this week, but the price reduction has slightly slowed down. On December 21st, the average domestic mixed price of industrial grade lithium carbonate was 97400 yuan/ton, a decrease of 4.88% compared to the average price of 102400 yuan/ton on December 17th. On December 21st, the average domestic mixed price of battery grade lithium carbonate was 106600 yuan/ton, a decrease of 5.33% compared to the average price of 112600 yuan/ton on December 17th.

By observing market changes, it can be seen that the price of lithium carbonate has continued to decline this week, but the magnitude of the price decline has slightly eased. In terms of supply, the domestic lithium carbonate market is still dominated by long-term transactions, but towards the end of the year, some lithium salt enterprises still have the idea of shipping due to inventory pressure, and prices are still being lowered. Some lithium salt enterprises still have a strong attitude of price support. The supply of lithium carbonate in the market is still sufficient, and major lithium salt enterprises maintain stable production. Customs data shows that approximately 17000 tons of lithium carbonate were imported in November, and Chile still exported about 13600 tons of lithium carbonate in November. In the short term, the domestic supply of lithium carbonate is still high.

In terms of demand, there is currently no increase in orders from downstream positive electrode material enterprises, and the mentality of reducing raw material inventory before the year is still present. The general strategy of long-term procurement is maintained, and their target price for bulk procurement is relatively low. Under the current price situation, there is little willingness to purchase bulk orders. However, some trading companies continue to follow the strategy of selling electricity and carbon at a discount of around 1000 yuan/ton, but with few transactions, they are more inclined to engage in partial warehousing in the future.

The price of lithium hydroxide is showing a downward trend. Due to the downward trend in the upstream industrial grade lithium carbonate market, the price of upstream spodumene concentrate is weak, dragging down the market mentality. Downstream procurement is slow to follow up, with a cautious focus on demand and a strong wait-and-see attitude. Holders are stimulating orders with low prices, and the focus of negotiations in the lithium hydroxide market is weakening.

The downstream price of lithium iron phosphate has declined due to the downward trend in lithium salt prices, which has driven down the cost of iron lithium materials. Due to a decrease in order volume, some iron lithium enterprises have reduced production based on sales, resulting in high inventory and slow destocking. Power end and energy storage end battery cell companies maintain a rigid demand for pick-up, with a focus on clearing finished product inventory, and a decrease in the purchase volume of lithium iron phosphate materials.

In terms of futures, on December 21st, the opening price of the LC2407 main contract was 100000 yuan/ton, with a highest price of 101850 yuan/ton and a closing price of 97600 yuan/ton, a daily decline of 4.22%. The transaction volume was 322700 lots, and the position was 158076 lots.

According to analysts from Shengyishe Lithium Carbonate, the current spot market for lithium carbonate is still in a state of oversupply, and prices remain weak. However, some lithium salt enterprises engaged in external lithium mining are still in a loss making state, and some lithium salt enterprises have low finished product inventory. These lithium salt enterprises have recently shown a stronger attitude towards selling at high prices, and the decline in spot market transaction prices is gradually slowing down. It is expected that the spot price of lithium carbonate will remain weak in the short term.