Lithium Carbonate: The inventory this Thursday afternoon is very important.

China time 7:43AM May21th,2026

Key Focus: Watch the new-sample inventory data from SMM this Thursday afternoon.

Market Overview

• High-Quality Lithium Carbonate: Market prices ranged from 175,000–183,700 RMB/ton, down by 7,650 RMB from the previous working day.
• Battery-Grade Lithium Carbonate: Market prices ranged from 173,300–183,700 RMB/ton, down by 7,800 RMB from the previous working day.
• Industrial-Grade Lithium Carbonate: Market prices ranged from 169,500–180,000 RMB/ton, down by 8,250 RMB from the previous working day.
• Futures Market: The main lithium carbonate contract (LC2609) closed at 183,100 RMB/ton with an open interest of 447,300 lots, down 1.30% from the previous trading day. The settlement price was 180,220 RMB/ton.

Supply Chain Breakdown

• Lithium Ore: Shipments from Zimbabwe have resumed. Following recent arrivals at ports, lithium salt factories have been quick to pick up the ore, keeping inventories at Xinminzhou Port at low levels. As prices fell, salt factories became active in purchasing ore via spot-pricing formulas.
• Lithium Salt: Spot prices for lithium carbonate hit bottom and rebounded today. Spot trading remained active, though transaction volumes weakened slightly compared to yesterday. Basis levels for tier-one materials strengthened significantly.
• Demand: Market order demand remains robust in May, with some new production capacities continuing to ramp up. Moving forward, actual industry output will heavily depend on the progress of these capacity ramps and the supply stability of upstream iron phosphate.

Summary

In May, the supply side of lithium carbonate is tightening while demand is expanding month-on-month. Overall inventory levels are expected to destock significantly across May and June. In the short term, prices are projected to exhibit a volatile yet upward-trending (stronger) pattern.

[LC Related] At the shareholder meeting on May 20, Tianqi Lithium stated that, up to the present, the company’s lithium concentrate and lithium salt inventories remain at reasonable levels. The lithium concentrate inventory is sufficient to meet the daily production requirements of the company’s own lithium salt processing plants. Furthermore, the cost of chemical-grade lithium concentrate used across the company's various lithium chemical production bases closely aligns with the latest purchase prices.

MAY 20 Trading Sector

The lithium carbonate trade market recorded a transaction volume of 4,538 tons. Most battery-grade lithium carbonate (battery-grade carbonate) transactions were settled at a discount of GFEX 2609 minus 2,000–3,500 RMB/ton against the LC2609 contract, with a few settled against the LC2606 contract. For transactions utilizing deferred/post-pricing, discounts for near-battery-grade material hovered between 7,000–8,000 RMB/ton, with pricing windows ranging from 175,000–182,000 RMB/ton. (Note: Due to a limited statistical sample size, this data is for reference only.)