The most-traded GFEX lithium carbonate futures price quickly pulled back yesterday driven by the news front. On August 24, Yifeng County released a public notice for the EIA of the Jianxiawo lithium mine project, allowing feedback within ten working days. The Company stated that this is only a supplementary local release, with content essentially the same as the July 27 version.
On the spot market, the downstream cathode plants primarily sourced feedstock via long-term and tolling orders. Following yesterday's futures pullback, spot transaction volumes picked up, and the spot basis against the November contract held firm, with basis for new cargoes trading in the range of flat to a discount of Yuan 1,000/tonne. And our view remains unchanged from early August, that is, the lithium carbonate prices are expected to trade rangebound in August, with a more constructive outlook from mid-September onward.
