According to company and media reports, recently some lithium miners received contract materials that are more than 10% higher than the spot price, which reflects the renewed interest of battery chemical manufacturers.
The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to company and media reports, the price of contract materials recently received by lithium miners is more than 10% higher than the spot price, which reflects the renewed interest of battery chemical manufacturers.
The report said that four lithium deals were reached at a higher price in the past two weeks, which further shows that after the price plummeted 80% in the past 12 months, the battery raw material market has stabilized.
Miners said that in the industry's broader discussions on pricing transparency, spot market prices are lagging behind their selling prices. Contract prices are generally not disclosed, but price providers can increase prices by incorporating these lithium deals into their calculations.
Joshua Thurlow, president of mineral resources' lithium business, said in a statement on Thursday: “Last week, MinRes sold spodumene concentrate at a price of 1,300 US dollars per ton, which is more than 10% higher than the current spot price.”
“It's clear that as long-awaited supply projects slow down or fail to materialize, the market is becoming aware of future demand for lithium, which is necessary for the global energy transition.”
He added that MinRes is currently considering selling through a digital auction platform to achieve “true price transparency.”
Sigma Lithium Corp (SGML.US) said on Wednesday that the company has received an offer of $1,333 per ton for 22,000 batches of lithium concentrate, including VAT.
Meanwhile, according to price provider Fastmarkets, citing market participants, America's Yabao (ALB.US) sold 10,000 tons of Western Australian lithium concentrate this week for around $1,200 per ton.
According to the report, the final price was slightly higher than Fastmarkets' spot price assessment of 1000-1100 yuan per ton of spodumene on March 22.
American Yabo said that out of respect for bidders, the company will not announce prices from recent tenders.
“Our focus is on improving price transparency and allowing participants to state what they think is the right price through private bidding,” the company said.
“We believe this is a responsible method of price discovery that can bring fair product valuations to buyers and sellers and drive a stronger and more sustainable market.”
Earlier, Pilbara Minerals (PILBF.US) said on March 14 that it had accepted the offer for 5,000 tons of lithium concentrate delivered in December, at $1,200 per ton.
Barrenjoey's Dan Morgan said that this result may reflect that consumers are replenishing inventory, but the price may remain around $1,200-1,300 because the price increase will only encourage a new increase in supply.
He said, “The market quickly rebalanced due to a series of production cuts and project delays. The scale and speed of these production cuts and project delays may be larger than some expected.”
“I don't think demand is significantly better now than a few months ago, and I don't think it's likely that prices will continue to rise in the next three to six months.”