Lithium prices in China fell Friday, reversing a recent rally, after the Guangzhou Futures Exchange stepped in to stop speculative trading and a report that battery giant CATL could restart production at its flagship lithium mine.
The most-active lithium carbonate contract on the GFEX closed daytime trading -9% at 91,020 yuan/metric ton ($12,804), according to Reuters, after hitting its highest since June 2024 at 102,500 yuan/ton in the previous session.
In early NYSE trading: Albemarle (ALB) -2.9%, SQM (SQM) -3.8%, Lithium Americas (LAC) -2.5%, Lithium Argentina (LAR) -8%, Standard Lithium (SLI) -6.5%, Sigma Lithium (SGML) -5.5%.
GFEX said it would raise transaction fees for some futures contracts of lithium carbonate, a move seen by analysts as targeting speculative trading.
Bloomberg reported CATL is planning to restart production as soon as next month at its Jianxiawo lithium mine, where production has been suspended since August due to the expiration of its mining license.
The mine can produce just over 46,000 tons/year of lithium carbonate equivalent, ~3% of global output for 2025, according to data from the Australian government.
Earlier this week, the chairman of major Chinese producer Ganfeng Lithium predicted demand for the battery metal to grow by 30% in 2026, lifting lithium carbonate prices to as high as 200,000 yuan/ton.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.