Overseas lithium ore has been arriving at ports in China in concentrated batches, extending the buildup of port ore inventories and reinforcing expectations of forward supply growth. The processing fees for Australian ore remained above Yuan 18,000/tonne, with ore absolute prices showing signs of weakening.
For lithium carbonate, the spot market performed moderately, with lithium carbonate inventory continuing to draw down and spot basis strengthening. Overall, the market saw sustained tug-of-war between strong fundamentals and weak expectations, keeping prices rangebound. In the medium term, the H2 balance sheet is expected to continue destocking month by month, but if supply ramp-up expectations gradually materialize and downstream demand shows negative feedback, the destocking pace will narrow progressively, and the support for prices will weaken accordingly.
