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High-Nickel",99.44,96.91,2.61,2.37,-3.84,[489,490,491,493,495,497,499,501,503,505,506,508],{"date":213,"value":483},{"date":216,"value":484},{"date":219,"value":492},97.09,{"date":222,"value":494},94.93,{"date":225,"value":496},97.13,{"date":467,"value":498},97.89,{"date":329,"value":500},101.4,{"date":339,"value":502},93.25,{"date":341,"value":504},98.94,{"date":344,"value":496},{"date":347,"value":507},98.69,{"date":350,"value":509},101.87,{"publishedDate":213,"updateFrequency":188,"updateFrequencyText":188,"label":511,"today":512,"last":513,"percentageChange":514,"yearToDate":515,"yearOnYear":516,"oneYearIndexTrend":517,"url":370,"subscription":49,"isProtected":50,"hasAccess":51},"NCM 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":744,"relatedVideos":745},112471540492920,"7e689260-042a-4c15-8587-3f139aa5ad23","Five reasons why falling Chinese lithium prices don’t tell the whole story","five-reasons-why-falling-chinese-lithium-prices-dont-tell-the-whole-story","article/five-reasons-why-falling-chinese-lithium-prices-dont-tell-the-whole-story",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":553,"content":563,"excerpt":724,"featured":51,"reporter":725,"_editable":729,"component":730,"seo_title":543,"categories":731,"visibility":737,"author_company":49,"featured_image":738,"seo_description":724,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":742,"formattedArticleDate":743},"5def0d30-32ff-46f0-bbe4-aa340e636125","2023-04-06 00:00",[550],{"slug":551,"name":552},"lithium-prices","Lithium prices",[554],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":557},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":558,"image":559,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":560},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":564,"content":565},"doc",[566,583,588,593,598,603,608,617,624,629,634,639,644,649,654,659,664,669,674,679,684,689,694,699,704,717],{"type":567,"attrs":568,"content":569},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[570,573,581],{"text":571,"type":572},"Chinese spot market battery-grade ","text",{"text":574,"type":572,"marks":575},"lithium carbonate prices",[576],{"type":577,"attrs":578},"link",{"href":579,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":580},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/lithium-prices/","url",{"text":582,"type":572}," have more than halved this year, ending an almost two-year record run that helped push up the cost of electric vehicle batteries for the first time in decades. ",{"type":567,"attrs":584,"content":585},{"textAlign":49},[586],{"text":587,"type":572},"But this doesn’t tell the whole story.  ",{"type":567,"attrs":589,"content":590},{"textAlign":49},[591],{"text":592,"type":572},"For starters, lithium is still relatively expensive. Benchmark’s average lithium carbonate prices are still four times higher than the average price between 2016 and 2021. They were last assessed at $45,274 a tonne. ",{"type":567,"attrs":594,"content":595},{"textAlign":49},[596],{"text":597,"type":572},"Prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China have fallen by 56% this year to RMB 245,000 ($35,621) a tonne, while prices for lithium hydroxide are down by 37% to RMB 345,000 a tonne ($50,161.) ",{"type":567,"attrs":599,"content":600},{"textAlign":49},[601],{"text":602,"type":572},"Contract pricing in the CIF Asia lithium market is also starting to correct more noticeably as lagged contract terms react to spot pricing movement in recent months. Yet these prices are less volatile. CIF Asia contract prices were last assessed at $57,500 a tonne by Benchmark. ",{"type":567,"attrs":604,"content":605},{"textAlign":49},[606],{"text":607,"type":572},"Here are five reasons why the speed of the price correction in China is not emblematic of the entire market.",{"type":567,"attrs":609,"content":610},{"textAlign":49},[611],{"type":612,"attrs":613},"image",{"id":49,"alt":614,"src":615,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":616},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/d9880d3bea/bm-lithium-price.jpg",{},{"type":618,"attrs":619,"content":621},"heading",{"level":620,"textAlign":49},4,[622],{"text":623,"type":572},"1. Spodumene feedstock prices are still high  ",{"type":567,"attrs":625,"content":626},{"textAlign":49},[627],{"text":628,"type":572},"Prices for spodumene feedstock from Australia have not fallen nearly as fast as spot-market Chinese lithium prices, due to a shortage of supply and delays in new projects. ",{"type":567,"attrs":630,"content":631},{"textAlign":49},[632],{"text":633,"type":572},"Prices for spodumene are down by 16% year-to-date to $5,395 a tonne, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. Higher price spot transactions have also been recorded, highlighting strong demand.",{"type":567,"attrs":635,"content":636},{"textAlign":49},[637],{"text":638,"type":572},"For converters, at current prices, that equates to a price of $40,000 a tonne for lithium hydroxide. Adding in conversion costs means prices of around $44,000 a tonne are needed before converters are losing money. ",{"type":567,"attrs":640,"content":641},{"textAlign":49},[642],{"text":643,"type":572},"“The supply of spodumene concentrate is expected to remain tight in the short term,” Ganfeng Lithium, China’s largest lithium producer, said in its annual report this month. ",{"type":567,"attrs":645,"content":646},{"textAlign":49},[647],{"text":648,"type":572},"In addition, due to the lag time in spodumene contracts, some contract prices will still be increasing. ",{"type":618,"attrs":650,"content":651},{"level":620,"textAlign":49},[652],{"text":653,"type":572},"2. Downstream inventories are low and cathode manufacturers will need to buy soon",{"type":567,"attrs":655,"content":656},{"textAlign":49},[657],{"text":658,"type":572},"Cathode manufacturers have continued to destock lithium inventories throughout this year amid weak customer demand, while inventories have built up at converters. ",{"type":567,"attrs":660,"content":661},{"textAlign":49},[662],{"text":663,"type":572},"At some point, however, they will need to start buying again, and will look to restock if they believe the lithium market has reached a bottom. That should eventually feed through to lithium prices. ",{"type":567,"attrs":665,"content":666},{"textAlign":49},[667],{"text":668,"type":572},"While lithium converters can sit on lithium carbonate inventories, lithium hydroxide needs to be sold, so these inventories cannot last forever, according to Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark.  ",{"type":618,"attrs":670,"content":671},{"level":620,"textAlign":49},[672],{"text":673,"type":572},"3. EV sales are increasing ",{"type":567,"attrs":675,"content":676},{"textAlign":49},[677],{"text":678,"type":572},"Chinese EV sales have had a slower start to the year, but momentum may pick up again. Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association said this month that he expects sales of New Energy Vehicles (including plug-in hybrids) to rise by 30% this year to around 8.5 million. Sales in the US are also expected to pick up, as up to $7,500 of EV consumer tax credits become available under the Inflation Reduction Act. Benchmark’s base case forecasts EV sales to increase by 46% in 2023 from last year.",{"type":618,"attrs":680,"content":681},{"level":620,"textAlign":49},[682],{"text":683,"type":572},"4. Energy storage demand is adding to lithium demand ",{"type":567,"attrs":685,"content":686},{"textAlign":49},[687],{"text":688,"type":572},"Energy storage is starting to take off due to supportive policies in China and the US. Demand for batteries from the energy storage sector is forecast to increase 460% between 2022 and 2030, according to Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Database.",{"type":618,"attrs":690,"content":691},{"level":620,"textAlign":49},[692],{"text":693,"type":572},"5. Prices below $22,000 a tonne could make Chinese lepidolite uneconomic  ",{"type":567,"attrs":695,"content":696},{"textAlign":49},[697],{"text":698,"type":572},"Many Chinese domestic lepidolite mines need a higher lithium price than mines in Australia to make money, restricting the level to which lithium prices can fall to some extent. ",{"type":567,"attrs":700,"content":701},{"textAlign":49},[702],{"text":703,"type":572},"Benchmark forecasts that around 65,000 tonnes LCE comes from Chinese lepidolite production this year, rising to 107,000 tonnes in 2024 – but this could struggle with lithium prices below $18,000 to $22,000 a tonne. ",{"type":567,"attrs":705,"content":706},{"textAlign":49},[707,709,715],{"text":708,"type":572},"Smaller lepidolite operations in China may already be struggling, according to a report in the Chinese publication ",{"text":710,"type":572,"marks":711},"The Paper",[712],{"type":577,"attrs":713},{"href":714,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":580},"https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_22587528",{"text":716,"type":572},", with some halting operations, although these reports have yet to be fully corroborated.",{"type":567,"attrs":718,"content":719},{"textAlign":49},[720],{"type":612,"attrs":721},{"id":49,"alt":614,"src":722,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":723},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/363e6e036b/bm-lithiums-volatile-journey.jpg",{},"Chinese spot market battery-grade lithium carbonate prices have more than halved this year, ending an almost two-year record run that helped push up the cost of electric vehicle batteries for the first time in decades. But this doesn’t tell the whole story. For starters, lithium is still relatively expensive. Benchmark’s average lithium carbonate prices are […]",[726],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":727},{"job_title":558,"image":728,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},{"filename":560},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"5def0d30-32ff-46f0-bbe4-aa340e636125\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[732,735],{"slug":733,"name":734},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":736,"name":8},"lithium","private",{"id":49,"alt":614,"name":614,"focus":614,"title":614,"source":614,"filename":739,"copyright":614,"fieldtype":740,"meta_data":741,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/a879a200d6/bm-lithium-nevada-2.jpg","asset",{"alt":614,"title":614,"source":614,"copyright":614},"Apr 06, 2023","6th April 2023",[],[],1781107346781]