Overseas lithium ore has been arriving in China in concentrated batches, reinforcing expectations of rising forward supply. Australian ore processing fees have remained above Yuan 18,000/tonne, while ore price resilience has been weakening. Lithium carbonate prices, on the other hand, have continued to weaken recently, with the market trading centering on bearish forward expectations, which pushed futures further lower. On the spot side, transaction volumes remained elevated, the basis has been strengthening, and spots availability remaned relatively tight. After the lithium price slumped, downstream buyers showed relatively high willingness to stock up speculatively.
