According to Mysteel's survey, China's lithium carbonate weekly inventories continued to decline in the session ending November 4, 2026, with total inventories falling 0.63% from the previous session. Supply-side production and long-term contract pickups have been running normally, while demand-side rigid consumption has remained stable. In this case, the inventories are still drawing down, with the direction unchanged for now.
Source: Mysteel
By segment, the lithium converters' inventories went down 1.73% week on week (WoW), with October output broadly stable. Sharp spot price declines in the current session curbed spot selling, leaving converters' destocking reliant on long-term contract pickups, with few contributed by spot transactions. Traders' inventories rose 2.03% WoW, a second straight week of rebuilding, though still at a yearly low. The slow buildup was triggered by low lithium prices and wide near-far month spreads. The cathode plants and end-users' inventories fell 2.27% a narrowing decline. LFP order confirmation for early November has been relatively sound and consumption pace normal. While spot purchases slowed early in the month, higher long-term contract pickups kept segment inventories drawing down but at a slower pace.
Overall, the current session's slower destocking likely stems more from blocked spot circulation, and the industry's low-inventory pattern remains unchanged. It should be noted that this survey does not cover off-balance-sheet samples such as SQM, and off-balance-sheet factors create some deviation in absolute inventory levels; actual tightness should be further verified against spot basis conditions. Going forward, attention should be paid to upstream output and maintenance pacing, lithium carbonate prices and basis trends, and downstream procurement and restocking pacing.
Written by Aggie Hu, huchenying@mysteel.com
