In China, the futures prices of lithium carbonate traded on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange (GFEX) plummeted by about 6% on Friday 20 October, while spot prices remained relatively stable, Kallanish observes. 

According to GFEX's data, the price of the main contract for January 2024 closed at CNY 151,950/tonne ($20,765.7/t), CNY 11,150/t lower than the previous trading day. The contracts ending in February, March, and all the way through to September, all experienced huge declines ranging from CNY 2,550/t to CNY 9,050/t. 

The spot price of battery-grade lithium carbonate remained quite stable during the week at about CNY 171,000-173,500/t, based on data provided by mainstream Chinese price agencies. 

Southwest Futures said: "The peak production season of the salt lake brines has passed so the production volume declined in these regions. The ore production volume in Jiangxi also declined due to environmental issues and losses of some firms. Currently, the supply of spot products is at low levels, but considering the new lithium carbonate projects being put into production ... it's still hard to say the supply is in huge deficit."

In terms of the spot market, industry experts think market sentiment has started to diverge. Some lithium salt companies continued price supporting strategies. The purchasing demand of the downstream companies was not high and deals were mainly concluded to inelastic demand. 

China Securities' analyst Zhang Weixin said: "The industry players generally expect oversupply for 2024. With the expected price declines, people tend not to stock goods as they did during price rebounds."