Lithium Carbonate Price Trends and Forecast

Regional Price Overview

Get the latest insights on price movement and trends analysis of Lithium Carbonate in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

Lithium Carbonate Price Trends for the First Half of 2023

Asia

The lithium carbonate market followed a bearish trends in the first quarter and during the initial phase of the second quarter of 2023. The weak demand from the downstream industries and the rising level of inventories challenged the growth of the lithium carbonate price trends.

In the second half of the second quarter, the trends reversed, and the market showed some positive movements. The inventories started to deplete as the domestic manufacturers were unable to get the raw materials, due to which the rates of production fell. In addition to this, the demand for electric vehicles and the automotive sector increased significantly during this time, leading to the rise in the price trends of lithium carbonate.

Europe

In Europe, the downfall in the price trends of lithium carbonate was a result of a number of reasons. The quotes offered by the downstream industries declined consistently during the first two quarters, and along with the rise in inflation and energy prices, the price trends of lithium carbonate struggled to maintain its momentum. The purchasing potential of domestic as well as international consumers also slumped while the supply chains worked efficiently, causing the price trends of lithium carbonate to decline.

North America

In the first two quarters, the lithium carbonate market in the US struggled with a decline in the number of new orders and a drop in competition among the EV manufacturers. Further, with the revival of the Chinese automotive and manufacturing sector after a long stretch of stagnancy, its dependency on North American imports declined, which negatively affected the lithium carbonate price trends.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trends of Lithium Carbonate is estimated to decline as the consumption rates of EV industries will likely decline in the upcoming quarters.

Lithium Carbonate Price Trends for the Second Half of 2022

Asia Pacific

The supply-demand dynamics struggled to find equilibrium in the Asian market during the third quarter of 2022. Supply from the manufacturers was not able to meet the increasing demand from the market and during the same time, some significant manufacturers temporarily restricted their production. Instead of benefiting from this disproportion, the prices plummeted in the region. Even in the fourth quarter, the market struggled to gain momentum. The price trends of Lithium carbonate was mostly affected by the subsidies on new energy vehicles.

Europe

The prices of Lithium carbonate fluctuated in the third quarter of 2022. The decline in sales, high inflation rates, and soaring energy production costs remained a challenge for the European market. The market trends of Lithium carbonate was thus, similar to that observed in the Asian-Pacific market. In the later months of the fourth quarter, the prices declined due to low demand, restricted exports, and fluctuating economic conditions. The price drop was also attributed to the drop in market competitiveness.

North America

In the third quarter, the North American region showcased a positive trajectory. This trends was supported by the consistent support of the feedstock prices and as a result, the profit margins of the producers increased. The fourth quarter did not follow the trends of the third quarter. The decline in the prices was due to a rise in inventories, weak market sentiments, and a drop in the growth of the electric vehicles market. The battery manufacturing industries were also not able to increase their supply and thus the price trends of Lithium carbonate took a dip in the fourth quarter.

Analyst Insight

The prices of Lithium Carbonate are estimated to decrease in the upcoming quarter. The decline in the growth of the electric vehicle sector, uncertainties in the market, and low demand from the end-user industries will play a major role in deciding the price trends of Lithium Carbonate.

Lithium Carbonate Price Trends for the First Half of 2022

Asia

The price trends for Lithium Carbonate kept strong during the first quarter owing to the limited inventory and high downstream demand. The downstream lithium hydroxide market was on the rise owing to the strong cost support. The second quarter continued with positive price trends. However, the prices fell slightly mid-quarter as the demand side was impacted owing to epidemic restrictions. Also, the acceptance of high-priced lithium salts was low.

Europe

Lithium carbonate prices surged throughout the first quarter owing to robust demand from the downstream sectors. With the manufacturers restricting activities with the Russian suppliers, the feedstock prices soared. The situation worsened with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, triggering an energy crisis and high-cost inflation. The prices dwindled but recovered soon as the demand surpassed the supply.

North America

Similar price trends were seen in the US domestic market. The prices kept high owing to solid demand amid labour shortages, power consumption restrictions, high feedstock prices, supply shortages and inflationary pricing. With the world switching to greener methods a massive surge in the market was created to acquire lithium carbonate manufacturing processes/facilities, thus driving the prices further.

Procurement Resource provides latest prices of Lithium Carbonate. Each price database is tied to a user-friendly graphing tool dating back to 2014, which provides a range of functionalities: configuration of price series over user defined time period; comparison of product movements across countries; customisation of price currencies and unit; extraction of price data as excel files to be used offline.