With the launch of the black mass, NCM/NCA, payable indicator, lithium, cif South Korea, % payable Fastmarkets’ lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot prices cif China, Japan & Korea on August 16, there was a one-time, downward non-market adjustment carried out on both the nickel and cobalt payable indicators that are currently published by Fastmarkets.
The prices for MB-BMS-0001 black mass, NCM/NCA, payable indicator, nickel, cif South Korea, % payable LME Nickel cash official price and MB-BMS-0002 black mass, NCM/NCA, payable indicator, cobalt, cif South Korea, % payable Fastmarkets’ standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) were published at 73-75% on August 16, following a correction due to a calculation error.
Those payables were down by 4-5% week on week from 77-80% CIF South Korea, which was published last week for the nickel and cobalt payables, including the value of lithium.
If this week’s prices had been published using the previous method of including the value of lithium in the nickel and cobalt payables, the price would have been 79-80% CIF South Korea for nickel and cobalt. This was because of higher bids for material heard in the market over the last week compared with the previous week.
Fastmarkets’ inaugural MB-BMS-0003 black mass, NCM/NCA, payable indicator, lithium, cif South Korea, % payable Fastmarkets’ lithium carbonate 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot prices cif China, Japan & Korea was assessed at 4-5% on August 16.
The adjustment of the nickel and cobalt payable indicators was signposted by Fastmarkets in the price launch proposal published on July 13.
It was necessary because, with the addition of the separate lithium payable, the method of pricing black mass has moved away from inclusion of the value of lithium in the nickel and cobalt payable indicators.
A lithium payable indicator has been launched amid demand from the market for greater transparency about the value of lithium in black mass traded in the South Korea market.
For more information or to provide feedback on this notice, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter for these prices, please contact Lee Allen by email at pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading: FAO: Lee Allen, Re: South Korea black mass market adjustment.
To see all of Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology
