China’s domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate prices rose by 5.6% to a 14-month high on Thursday January 14, 2021 on tightening spot supply while battery-grade lithium hydroxide also surged by 10.3% week on week on low availability of cheap materials, Fastmarkets heard.

Swiss miner-trader Glencore and Chinese battery materials producer GEM have extended their agreement for cobalt hydroxide supply by another five years.

Mill operations suspended in Ukraine and energy supply risks loom over Europe

Deliveries of battery raw materials from Chinese producers to consumers in South Korea and Japan are continuing as usual despite a recent surge in the number of people infected by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the latter two countries, Fastmarkets understands.

The Chinese battery-grade lithium compound prices were stable in the week to Thursday July 30, with some carbonate producers holding offers firm to test the market, while the European and United States lithium hydroxide spot price narrowed down.

The spread of the Covid-19 virus is causing disruption to immediate supply chains and future demand forecasts across the technology and consumer electronics sector.

Chinese cobalt producer GEM Co Ltd has signed a cobalt supply contract with Switzerland-based miner-trader Glencore, locking in cobalt hydroxide supply for the next five years, the companies announced on October 7.

An overview of the battery raw materials markets and their latest price moves.

London Metal Exchange Week, the largest annual gathering of metals and mining figures in the world, is set to begin on Sunday October 27.

A global shortage of steel slab is a key factor in rocketing flat steel prices, market sources told Fastmarkets this week.