Lithium

Fastmarkets will implement the following methodology changes to its benchmark assessments of the MB-LI-0033 lithium hydroxide monohydrate LiOH.H2O, 56.5% LiOH min, battery grade, spot price, cif China, Japan & Korea and the MB-LI-0029 lithium carbonate, 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot prices, cif China, Japan & Korea, effective from Tuesday September 1, 2026. 

The quality specifications for both assessments will be revised to reflect material that is “widely qualified by buyers in the destination country for use in battery applications”.  

The volume specification for both assessments will be revised to a minimum of 18 tonnes; payment terms will be revised to letter of credit at sight, with other terms normalized; and the timing specification will be clarified to reflect delivery within 60 days. 

Additional granularity related to the product shelf life and particle size will also be introduced.
  
All information is available in the pricing notice, available here.

Fastmarkets has implemented changes following extensive market feedback and observation of evolving spot market trading practices for battery-grade lithium salts.  

We publish assessments designed to reflect the most representative specification of the physical spot market for battery-grade lithium salts. 
 
Through these changes, we will continue to reflect the prevailing battery-grade market, in light of observed changes in shifting product specifications in the pricing data received, as well as trade flows in the cif China, Japan & Korea market. 

The assessment specification changes will ensure Fastmarkets assessments continue to reflect material directly used in the Electric Vehicle (EV) and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) end-use sectors, and to not reflect atypical data points that can lead to wide spreads or distortions.  

Fastmarkets will update the relevant specifications for its benchmark MB-LI-0033 lithium hydroxide monohydrate LiOH.H2O, 56.5% LiOH min, battery grade, spot price cif China, Japan & Korea and MB-LI-0029 lithium carbonate, 99.5% Li2CO3 min, battery grade, spot prices cif China, Japan & Korea assessments, effective Tuesday September 1, 2026. 

In addition, we will implement methodology changes and clarifications to its global suite of battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide assessments on Tuesday September 1, 2026, to align with changes to the Fastmarkets’ benchmark cif China, Japan & Korea battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide assessments.  

A detailed summary of all feedback received is available here.

Yes. The changes reflect evolving market conditions and trading practices observed across the cif China, Japan & Korea lithium salts market.  

Over the past year, Fastmarkets has observed widening price ranges, particularly in the battery-grade lithium hydroxide cif China, Japan & Korea market, with market participants increasingly reporting greater price differentiation between widely qualified material and unqualified or older material, as well as material destined for conversion or non-battery-grade end-uses.    

Market participants have also reported differentiated value for battery-grade lithium salts due to the product’s physical characteristics and its shelf life, particularly for lithium hydroxide. Factors such as volume and payment terms are also having a growing impact on value, with increasing trader participation in the spot market in recent years. 

We have received supportive feedback from market participants in favour of a more granular base specification.  

The purpose of this methodology change is to focus the price assessment specifications to the prevailing spot market merchantable material in the China, Japan and Korea region, for lithium salts that are widely qualified by buyers in the destination country for use in battery applications. 

Any impact to the price assessment would depend on the reported data in each pricing session.  

Data analysis, conducted over March to May 2026 showed the cif China, Japan & Korea battery-grade lithium hydroxide price assessment showed a narrower low-high range that was higher on the low end than the assessment under the existing methodology in the same period, as material not widely qualified in the destination country was not reflected.  

Data analysis of the pricing impact of the revised methodology on the cif China, Japan & Korea battery-grade lithium carbonate price assessment showed it had no effect or had a negligible effect on the lithium carbonate price formation. 

Please note that the data analysis is not a prediction of future values. Fastmarkets’ editorial and pricing team cannot predict future supply-demand fundamentals, which can evolve, along with the qualification status of brands of lithium salts in China, Japan and Korea, and can impact the price. Fastmarkets can also not predict the future behaviour of market participants.  

Fastmarkets, as an independent benchmark provider, is price agnostic and has no interest in the direction of a price assessment.