The lithium carbonate prices remained broadly soft last week. On the spot market, transactions stayed slow early in the week, then slightly picked up after prices fell below Yuan 100,000/tonne. Downstream buyers continued to purchase mainly on a need-to basis, with speculative restocking not particularly strong. The spots supply remained tight, and the overall lithium carbonate inventory destocking continued. The basis offered by the traders held firm, while the traded basis weakened somewhat, with the ex-works basis for new battery-grade lithium carbonate lowered by Yuan 200/tonne from last Friday to Yuan 1,150/tonne based on November contract. Meanwhile, the futures price rebound last Friday was partly due to the shorts leaving the market after paying off. And the progress of mine's potential restart and bearish forward expectations will keep capping the market.
