[SMM Daily Review: 3 August – Spot Lithium Carbonate Continues to Fall] Today, SMM’s spot price for battery-grade lithium carbonate continued to fall compared with the previous working day. The lithium carbonate 2609 contract opened lower today at 137,500 yuan per tonne; following the opening, it fluctuated lower and quickly dipped, touching a low of 135,600 yuan per tonne; Subsequently, long positions drove a volatile rebound, with the price fluctuating around the moving average line during the morning session; as the morning session drew to a close, long positions intensified, propelling the price to rapidly break through the 140,000 yuan mark and surge to 140,800 yuan per tonne. In the afternoon, the price retreated amid selling pressure from short positions and profit-taking, and consolidated within a narrow range of 138,800–139,000 yuan per tonne towards the close, eventually closing down 1.15% at 138,900 yuan per tonne, with open interest decreasing by 3,474 contracts. In the spot market, as it was the first working day of the month, downstream material manufacturers began dispatching goods under long-term contracts and for customer orders; spot buyers remained cautious, purchasing only on an as-needed basis when prices were relatively low. Upstream lithium salt producers continued to maintain their willingness to support prices for spot sales, with the focus at the start of the month on ensuring supply through long-term contracts and contract volume increases. Overall, the level of activity in market enquiries and actual transactions declined somewhat.

[SMM Daily Review: 4 August – Spot Prices for Lithium Carbonate Remain Unchanged] Today, SMM’s spot price for battery-grade lithium carbonate remained unchanged from the previous working day. The lithium carbonate 2609 futures contract opened lower today at 138,800 yuan per tonne; following the opening, it fluctuated lower and quickly fell, touching a low of 137,300 yuan per tonne; Subsequently, the entry of bullish capital drove a rapid rebound, with prices surging to around 141,400 yuan per tonne during the morning session; around midday, bulls and bears engaged in a tug-of-war within the 139,500–141,400 yuan per tonne range, with two attempts to reach 141,400 yuan per tonne both meeting selling pressure from short sellers; in the afternoon, prices fluctuated lower, consolidating within a narrow range of 139,300–139,500 yuan per tonne in the final trading session, before ultimately closing 0.84 per cent higher at 139,400 yuan per tonne, with open interest down by 8,337 contracts. In the spot market, downstream materials manufacturers made essential purchases on the dip; whilst enquiries were relatively active, actual transactions slowed somewhat. Upstream suppliers continued to hold firm on spot prices, with shipments at the start of the month primarily consisting of long-term contract deliveries. Overall, market trading remained relatively subdued.

[SMM Daily Review: 5 August – Spot lithium carbonate prices rose amid volatility] Today, SMM’s spot price for battery-grade lithium carbonate rose amid volatility compared with the previous trading day. The lithium carbonate 2609 contract opened lower today at 139,700 yuan per metric tonne; after briefly dipping to 138,300 yuan per metric tonne following the opening, it found support, with long positions driving a volatile rebound; during the morning session, the price fluctuated firmly within the 140,000–142,000 yuan range; although there were some fluctuations, the price centre gradually shifted upwards; around midday, bulls and bears engaged in a tug-of-war within the 141,500–142,500 yuan range; In the afternoon, bulls continued to exert pressure, driving the price to rise in a choppy manner. As the session drew to a close, a concentrated influx of capital caused the price to surge rapidly to 144,300 yuan per tonne, setting an intraday high. This was followed by a slight pullback due to some profit-taking, with the price closing near 143,200 yuan per tonne. The contract ultimately closed up 2.61% at 143,200 yuan per tonne, whilst open interest fell by 9,640 lots. In the spot market, downstream buyers purchased on a needs-based basis at lower levels; some downstream firms saw an increase in spot order demand as long-term contract volumes were reduced due to maintenance at upstream lithium salt plants. Upstream lithium salt plants remained relatively cautious regarding spot sales; those with maintenance plans prioritised long-term contract supply this month, whilst some showed a slight easing in their willingness to maintain prices. Overall, market enquiries and actual transactions remained relatively stable.

[SMM Daily Review: 7 August – Spot Prices for Lithium Carbonate Continue to Rise] Today, SMM’s spot prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate continued to rise compared with the previous working day. The lithium carbonate 2609 futures contract opened higher today at 142,900 yuan per tonne; after opening, it briefly dipped to around 141,000 yuan per tonne before finding support, with bullish capital driving a volatile rebound; During the morning session, prices fluctuated firmly within the 142,000–143,500 yuan range, with the centre of gravity gradually shifting upwards; as the morning session drew to a close, bulls made a concerted push, driving prices rapidly to 144,800 yuan per tonne—an intraday high—before encountering selling pressure from bears and profit-taking, leading to a volatile pullback; In the afternoon, prices continued to weaken and broke below the moving average line; towards the close, short sellers applied pressure once more, causing prices to accelerate their decline to 139,600 yuan per tonne. The market ultimately closed down 0.7 per cent at 140,000 yuan per tonne, with open interest falling by 7,873 contracts. In the spot market, downstream buyers purchased on an as-needed basis at lower levels, with little enthusiasm for large-scale stockpiling; whilst some upstream manufacturers showed a slightly weaker willingness to support prices, most continued to prioritise fulfilling long-term contract orders due to maintenance work, resulting in limited sales of spot orders. Overall, both market enquiries and actual transactions remained relatively stable.

SMM August 7 News: Today, futures continued to surge, and spot cargo in South China showed strong resilience. Arrivals have already shown tightness, and the destocking trend is stable, continuing to support large-scale holders to be bullish on the outlook, hold prices firm and hold back from selling, and even some actively try to raise prices. Even without purchase response, they firmly refuse to adjust prices. Mainstream quotations were at a premium of 0 to +10 yuan/mt, with tight circulation in some areas. Demand side, downstream was temporarily unable to accept the price surge, and only made the minimum just-in-time procurement. However, with limited circulation, traders actively entering the market to purchase at non-premium prices have been sufficient to absorb the supply. The supply-demand pattern was tight, and overall transactions were stable with a positive bias. Spot transaction prices were concentrated at premiums of 65 yuan/mt to 105 yuan/mt over the SHFE aluminum 2608 contract.

Today, iron ore futures trended steadily. The most-traded DCE I2609 contract closed at 716.5 yuan/mt, up 0.35% from the previous trading session. Spot prices at Qingdao Port fell by an average of about 0-2 yuan/mt from the previous trading day. Trader activity was moderate, steel mills purchased as needed, and overall spot transactions were moderate. This week, iron ore showed a weak supply-demand trend. SMM's latest statistics show that total iron ore inventory at 35 major ports nationwide was 146.39 million mt, down 420,000 mt WoW. Meanwhile, daily average port pick-up volume edged down 45,000 mt to 3.095 million mt. On the supply side, affected by the pace of earlier shipments and weather factors, port arrivals edged down slightly. On the demand side, this week some blast furnaces entered maintenance, and SMM's daily average pig iron production fell to 240.58. Iron ore demand also declined. From a fundamental perspective, short-term iron ore prices may mainly consolidate. [SMM Steel]