RE:RE:Lithium Price Getting Back to Normality! THE WUXI EFFECT
The lithium market is now on the rebound, led once again by the Chinese spot price , which has jumped to 295,000 yuan from 182,500 at the end of April, according to Fastmarkets.
China's EV market is regaining lost momentum and the domestic destocking cycle is coming to an end.
In the event of a shift to restocking, the price reaction is likely to be just as extreme to the upside as it has been to the downside over the first part of this year.
The first sign of the turnaround came in China's technical-grade carbonate market. Benchmark Minerals noted in late April an uptick in pricing after six months of relentless downtrend.
The price bounce, according to Benchmark, was initiated on the Wuxi exchange, with traders buying warehouse space two weeks earlier.
Futures optimism spilled over in the physical spot market, although Benchmark cautioned at the time the price rise didn't reflect a real change in consumer demand but rather "market expectations among a small group of well-informed actors".
But the Wuxi effect is once again at work, lifting the entire product pricing chain off its April price lows.
It may be time for the industry to accept more price transparency, rather than have a small group of traders shove the global supply chain around.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/lithium-slump-puts-chinas-spot-price-under-spotlight-andy-home-2023-05-19/