SunSirs: With Demand Continuing to Surge, the Price of Lithium Carbonate Broken Through Previous Levels and Rose

Price trend:

According to SunSirs' commodity price analysis system, lithium carbonate prices continued to rise recently. As of December 15th, the benchmark price for battery-grade lithium carbonate was 96,233 RMB/ton, a 4% increase compared to the same period last week (December 8th), a 12.29% increase month-on-month, and a 19.69% increase year-on-year; the benchmark price for industrial-grade lithium carbonate was 94,533 RMB/ton, a 4.07% increase compared to the same period last week, a 12.63% increase month-on-month, and a 21.2% increase year-on-year.

Factors supporting price increases:

Continued surge in demand

The demand for energy storage was experiencing explosive growth, becoming a core demand driver. Order backlogs had extended to 2026, effectively compensating for the seasonal decline in demand for new energy vehicles. In November, the combined production of power batteries and energy storage batteries in China reached 176.3 GWh, a month-on-month increase of 3.3%.

Supply was contracting

Although lithium carbonate production increased slightly in November, and with the gradual commissioning of some new production lines, domestic lithium carbonate production is expected to increase by approximately 3% month-on-month in December, indicating a steady increase in supply. However, the tight supply situation in the lithium mining sector had not improved. Market reports indicated a shortage of lithium mines in the Yichun area, and the resumption of production at CATL's Jianxiawo lithium mine is unlikely this year. In the short term, the supply gap will be difficult to fill.

The trend of inventory reduction continued

According to market data, lithium carbonate inventories decreased by 3,000 tons per week in the fourth quarter, and this inventory reduction trend supported an upward shift in the price level.

Market outlook

According to data analysts at SunSirs, the explosive growth in downstream energy storage applications for lithium carbonate, coupled with a supply-demand imbalance that is difficult to reverse in the short term, is supporting price increases due to continued inventory reduction. Prices are expected to remain volatile at high levels in the short term, and the specific trajectory will depend on changes in market supply and demand and the progress of mine restarts.

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