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Mid-Nickel",103.5,99.73,3.78,13.78,6.78,[518,519,520,522,524,526,528,530,532,534,536,538],{"date":213,"value":512},{"date":216,"value":513},{"date":219,"value":521},99.19,{"date":222,"value":523},96.02,{"date":225,"value":525},98.23,{"date":467,"value":527},99.24,{"date":329,"value":529},101.29,{"date":339,"value":531},87.61,{"date":341,"value":533},92.44,{"date":344,"value":535},90.96,{"date":347,"value":537},92.24,{"date":350,"value":539},95.09,{"id":541,"uuid":542,"name":543,"slug":544,"full_slug":545,"content":546,"relatedArticles":685,"relatedVideos":686},112469979547211,"b1bbf789-0070-4461-921d-df051504e612","Chinese lithium chemical prices edge up on improving near-term demand sentiment","chinese-lithium-chemical-prices-edge-up-on-improving-near-term-demand-sentiment","article/chinese-lithium-chemical-prices-edge-up-on-improving-near-term-demand-sentiment",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":550,"content":560,"excerpt":665,"featured":51,"reporter":666,"_editable":670,"component":671,"seo_title":543,"categories":672,"visibility":678,"author_company":49,"featured_image":679,"seo_description":665,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":683,"formattedArticleDate":684},"4f9c20bf-b5d4-4ea5-ad39-74fdd535dbc8","2024-03-01 00:00",[],[551],{"slug":552,"name":553,"content":554},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":555,"image":556,"bio":558,"linkedin":559},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":557},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":561,"content":562},"doc",[563,570,575,590,599,604,609,622,627,632,643,654],{"type":564,"attrs":565,"content":566},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[567],{"text":568,"type":569},"Lithium prices in China edged up in late February amid an improvement in short-term demand sentiment.","text",{"type":564,"attrs":571,"content":572},{"textAlign":49},[573],{"text":574,"type":569},"This is the second rise in prices this year, following a slight uptick ahead of the Chinese Spring Festival when the market had expected a notable increase in cathode production in late February and March. ",{"type":564,"attrs":576,"content":577},{"textAlign":49},[578,580,588],{"text":579,"type":569},"Chinese lithium hydroxide prices rose 3.1% to an average of RMB 84,000 ($11,675) a tonne in the week ending February 28, according to the ",{"text":581,"type":569,"marks":582},"Benchmark Lithium Price Assessment",[583],{"type":584,"attrs":585},"link",{"href":586,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":587},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/lithium/reports/","url",{"text":589,"type":569},". Chinese lithium hydroxide prices are now up 0.6% so far this year and have declined 82.5% year-on-year.",{"type":564,"attrs":591,"content":592},{"textAlign":49},[593],{"type":594,"attrs":595},"image",{"id":49,"alt":596,"src":597,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":598},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/e239b15096/bm-lithium-price-chart-feb-28.png",{},{"type":564,"attrs":600,"content":601},{"textAlign":49},[602],{"text":603,"type":569},"Certain regional cell makers are expected to increase production in March by as much as 30% on a month-on-month basis, although production remained muted during Spring Festival in February. But cell and cathode makers do not have sufficient inventories of lithium chemicals to meet this surge, contacts reported to Benchmark. The move is likely to boost additional spot market procurement and spot market prices in the short term.",{"type":564,"attrs":605,"content":606},{"textAlign":49},[607],{"text":608,"type":569},"“There is usually an uptick in demand after Spring Festival, which is what we are starting to see,” said Daisy Jennings-Gray, head of prices at Benchmark. ",{"type":564,"attrs":610,"content":611},{"textAlign":49},[612,614,620],{"text":613,"type":569},"In 2024, the impact of the low price environment could feed into more downstream ",{"text":615,"type":569,"marks":616},"demand for raw materials",[617],{"type":584,"attrs":618},{"href":619,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":587},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/battery-recycling-pool-could-supplement-2040-lithium-supply-with-equivalent-to-30-mines",{"text":621,"type":569},", driven by lower cell prices which could in turn improve overall electric vehicle demand. ",{"type":564,"attrs":623,"content":624},{"textAlign":49},[625],{"text":626,"type":569},"“That being said, the lithium market is set to be much more balanced this year so it’s unlikely to result in a huge increase in prices,” Jennings-Gray said. “Nonetheless, environmental inspections at lepidolite operations in Jiangxi are also helping to support prices at the moment, given concerns over a slight constriction in supply.” ",{"type":564,"attrs":628,"content":629},{"textAlign":49},[630],{"text":631,"type":569},"Further, customers have asked some cathode makers to accept fixed prices for finished cathodes set at a discount of 5% to 10% to average prices in January and February. Benchmark expects that while some may accept these terms, others may opt to reduce production in response to squeezed profit margins. ",{"type":564,"attrs":633,"content":634},{"textAlign":49},[635],{"text":636,"type":569,"marks":637},"Watch Benchmark price analyst Sophia Jang discuss lithium’s price performance.",[638,641],{"type":584,"attrs":639},{"href":640,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":587},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/video/watch/analyst-insights-why-have-lithium-price-falls-continued-into-2024",{"type":642},"italic",{"type":564,"attrs":644,"content":645},{"textAlign":49},[646,648,652],{"text":647,"type":569},"Spot prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China remained steady, rising marginally by 0.1% in the week ending February 28 to an average of RMB 95,500 ($13,275) a tonne, according to the ",{"text":581,"type":569,"marks":649},[650],{"type":584,"attrs":651},{"href":586,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":587},{"text":653,"type":569},". Chinese lithium carbonate prices are now down 1% in the first two months of this year and have fallen 78.9% year-on-year. ",{"type":564,"attrs":655,"content":656},{"textAlign":49},[657,659,663],{"text":658,"type":569},"Sustainable lithium prices have also inched up in February. Spot prices for sustainable lithium carbonate CIF Asia, Min 99% increased 3.4% to $14,475 per tonne, according to the ",{"text":581,"type":569,"marks":660},[661],{"type":584,"attrs":662},{"href":586,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":587},{"text":664,"type":569},". ","Lithium prices in China edged up in late February amid an improvement in short-term demand sentiment. This is the second rise in prices this year, following a slight uptick ahead of the Chinese Spring Festival when the market had expected a notable increase in cathode production in late February and March. Chinese lithium hydroxide prices […]",[667],{"slug":552,"name":553,"content":668},{"job_title":555,"image":669,"bio":558,"linkedin":559},{"filename":557},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4f9c20bf-b5d4-4ea5-ad39-74fdd535dbc8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[673,676],{"slug":674,"name":675},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":677,"name":8},"lithium","private",{"id":49,"alt":596,"name":596,"focus":596,"title":596,"source":596,"filename":680,"copyright":596,"fieldtype":681,"meta_data":682,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/87c3570c82/bm-price-chart-1313884cf2e2.jpg","asset",{"alt":596,"title":596,"source":596,"copyright":596},"Mar 01, 2024","1st March 2024",[],[],1781280269698]