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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":698,"relatedVideos":699},112472348462277,"edbbbf60-6d9b-4ca3-a0de-a6ff55d94dd2","Lithium prices touch record high in China as EV sales momentum remains","lithium-prices-touch-record-high-in-china-as-ev-sales-momentum-remains","article/lithium-prices-touch-record-high-in-china-as-ev-sales-momentum-remains",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":553,"content":563,"excerpt":678,"featured":51,"reporter":679,"_editable":683,"component":684,"seo_title":543,"categories":685,"visibility":691,"author_company":49,"featured_image":692,"seo_description":678,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":696,"formattedArticleDate":697},"6bfae428-bcf5-4555-a55d-a9a8eaad863e","2022-10-13 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",[566,573,578,583,598,609,618,623,628,641,648,653,658,663,668,673],{"type":567,"attrs":568,"content":569},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[570],{"text":571,"type":572},"Lithium prices in China touched an all-time high on Wednesday, continuing a record-breaking streak that is putting increasing pressure on automakers and battery producers to secure supply from mining companies.","text",{"type":567,"attrs":574,"content":575},{"textAlign":49},[576],{"text":577,"type":572},"The price of Chinese battery grade lithium carbonate rose by 1.7% in the past week following the country’s National Day holiday to reach a record high of RMB 532,000 per tonne ($74,475), according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment. The price has risen by 108% year-to-date.",{"type":567,"attrs":579,"content":580},{"textAlign":49},[581],{"text":582,"type":572},"Prices for lithium hydroxide, which is used in high nickel batteries, rose by 1% to RMB 528,000 ($73,925), a jump of 147% this year.",{"type":567,"attrs":584,"content":585},{"textAlign":49},[586,588,596],{"text":587,"type":572},"Lithium prices have followed an almost consistent upward trajectory for 24 straight months fuelled by growing ",{"text":589,"type":572,"marks":590},"demand",[591],{"type":592,"attrs":593},"link",{"href":594,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":595},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/lithium-has-to-scale-twenty-times-by-2050-as-automakers-face-generational-challenge/","url",{"text":597,"type":572}," for electric vehicles in China as well as the rest of the world. Global sales of electric vehicles hit one million for the first time in September, an increase of 18% compared to August, according to Rho Motion. Year-to-date just under seven million electric vehicles have been sold globally, led by BYD and Tesla.",{"type":567,"attrs":599,"content":600},{"textAlign":49},[601,607],{"text":602,"type":572,"marks":603},"China’s",[604],{"type":592,"attrs":605},{"href":606,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":595},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/infographic-chinas-lithium-ion-battery-supply-chain-dominance/",{"text":608,"type":572}," EV sales have led the world this year and remained robust despite continued Covid-19 lockdowns across the country. Sales of battery electric vehicles have risen by 102% this year compared to 2021, according to official statistics.",{"type":567,"attrs":610,"content":611},{"textAlign":49},[612],{"type":613,"attrs":614},"image",{"id":49,"alt":615,"src":616,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":617},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/ec1041535f/bm-lithium-prices-to-4-october-1.png",{},{"type":567,"attrs":619,"content":620},{"textAlign":49},[621],{"text":622,"type":572},"The higher prices in China’s spot lithium market will feed through to longer-term pricing contracts between automakers and lithium producers, according to Daisy Jennings-Gray, an analyst at Benchmark, increasing pricing pressures across the industry.",{"type":567,"attrs":624,"content":625},{"textAlign":49},[626],{"text":627,"type":572},"“There’s still some catching up to do in long-term pricing contracts,” she said. “How the spot market is behaving now might not necessarily be the prices being absorbed by much of the downstream but they will be soon for most consumers given the restructuring of pricing mechanisms we have seen in lithium supply contracts over the last year, putting further pressure on automakers and adding to cost difficulties in achieving their electrification targets.”",{"type":567,"attrs":629,"content":630},{"textAlign":49},[631,633,639],{"text":632,"type":572},"The high prices have pushed ",{"text":634,"type":572,"marks":635},"battery producers",[636],{"type":592,"attrs":637},{"href":638,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":595},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/rio-tinto-and-sk-on-outline-lithium-plans-as-shortage-fears-weigh-across-supply-chain/",{"text":640,"type":572}," to sign supply agreements with emerging lithium producers, in the hope of securing future supplies. This week Argentina-focused lithium producer Lake Resources said it had signed an agreement with South Korean battery producer SK On to supply up to 25,000 tonnes a year of lithium from its Kachi project.",{"type":642,"attrs":643,"content":645},"heading",{"level":644,"textAlign":49},4,[646],{"text":647,"type":572},"WHY TRADE PRICES AREN’T RELIABLE ",{"type":567,"attrs":649,"content":650},{"textAlign":49},[651],{"text":652,"type":572},"The price increases come despite a report by Morgan Stanley on Thursday that triggered a broad sell-off among Australia-listed lithium mining companies. The bank said September trade data showed Sociedad Química y Minera (SQM) was exporting less to China in September at lower prices than the spot market. This could be a “yellow flag” for the lithium market, it said.",{"type":567,"attrs":654,"content":655},{"textAlign":49},[656],{"text":657,"type":572},"Morgan Stanley speculated that SQM could be “holding part of its capacity increase, to sustain spot prices in China.”",{"type":567,"attrs":659,"content":660},{"textAlign":49},[661],{"text":662,"type":572},"SQM is expected to produce 160,000 tonnes of LCE this year, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast, accounting for 23% of the global market.",{"type":567,"attrs":664,"content":665},{"textAlign":49},[666],{"text":667,"type":572},"But Caspar Rawles, chief data officer of Benchmark, said trade data was not a reliable indicator of lithium pricing, since there was no accounting for grade, and some products could be incorrectly labelled when exported. Some companies also use internal transfer pricing, rather than market pricing that would be paid by their customers.",{"type":567,"attrs":669,"content":670},{"textAlign":49},[671],{"text":672,"type":572},"In general, trade statistics show the value of the product linked to the date of shipment, rather than sale, meaning due to shipping delays this could be a price agreed many weeks if not months ago, Rawles said.",{"type":567,"attrs":674,"content":675},{"textAlign":49},[676],{"text":677,"type":572},"“IOSCO assured pricing, with expert analysts speaking directly with the market, provides a far more accurate set of price data rather than relying on trade stats,” he said.","Lithium prices in China touched an all-time high on Wednesday, continuing a record-breaking streak that is putting increasing pressure on automakers and battery producers to secure supply from mining companies. The price of Chinese battery grade lithium carbonate rose by 1.7% in the past week following the country’s National Day holiday to reach a record […]",[680],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":681},{"job_title":558,"image":682,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},{"filename":560},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6bfae428-bcf5-4555-a55d-a9a8eaad863e\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[686,689],{"slug":687,"name":688},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":690,"name":8},"lithium","private",{"id":49,"alt":615,"name":615,"focus":615,"title":615,"source":615,"filename":693,"copyright":615,"fieldtype":694,"meta_data":695,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c8518ea82a/bm-lithium-chile-1.png","asset",{"alt":615,"title":615,"source":615,"copyright":615},"Oct 13, 2022","13th October 2022",[],[],1787672750008]