A dated log of the lithium market events behind recent price moves, each with its source, plus live headline feeds for the largest lithium producers from TradingView.
Lithium market timeline
- 30 Sep 2026China lithium carbonate at 122,800 CNY/t, down about 22.5% over the month but about 67% higher year on year (Trading Economics).
- 18 Sep 2026Lithium falls to an eight-month low as restarts of Mineral Resources’ Bald Hill and Core Lithium’s Finniss in Australia and higher reported Chinese stockpiles ease supply concerns (Trading Economics).
- 3–8 Sep 2026Shanghai Metals Market revises its inventory methodology, lifting reported lithium carbonate stocks from just over 70,000 t to 169,300 t; China spot falls from about 159,300 to 142,800 CNY/t and GFEX futures drop 7.41% on 4 September (BigGo Finance).
- 2 Sep 2026Benchmark assesses battery-grade lithium carbonate at US$19,750/t and hydroxide at US$18,750/t CIF Asia, and spodumene at US$2,254/t FOB Australia.
- 4 Jul 2026GFEX opens lithium carbonate futures and options to overseas traders (Global Times).
- Mid-May 2026GFEX lithium carbonate futures hit a two-year high above 200,000 CNY/t.
- Feb 2026Lithium Americas targets late-2027 mechanical completion for Thacker Pass Phase 1 (40,000 t/yr lithium carbonate); USGS publishes Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 showing 2025 world lithium output up 31%.
- 13 Jan 2026Spodumene spot sales above US$2,200/t after a 60% rise in a month (Argonaut).
- Dec 2025Pilbara Minerals becomes PLS Group; SQM and Codelco form NovaAndino Litio; BloombergNEF reports average battery pack prices fell 8% to US$108/kWh.
- Aug 2025CATL suspends its Jianxiawo lepidolite mine in Jiangxi, a trigger for the late-2025 lithium price recovery.
Live headlines: Albemarle (ALB)
Live headlines: SQM
Headline feeds are provided by TradingView and its news partners; LithiumChart.com does not write or verify them.
What moves lithium prices
- EV and storage demand: monthly Chinese EV sales and battery output, and grid-storage installations.
- Chinese supply and inventories: lepidolite mine permits in Jiangxi, salt-lake output in Qinghai, and weekly inventory data.
- Mine restarts and closures: Australian and African operations respond to price with a lag of months.
- Policy: export restrictions (Zimbabwe, the DRC for cobalt), Chilean and Argentine regulation, and Western critical-minerals subsidies.
- Futures positioning: speculative flows on GFEX can amplify moves in both directions.
Sources
- Trading Economics, Lithium (China lithium carbonate, CNY/t) (value for 30 September 2026)
- BigGo Finance, “China’s Lithium Carbonate Futures Tumble Below 140,000 Yuan as Inventory Data Overhaul Triggers Repricing” (10 September 2026)
- Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, lithium prices page (assessment of 2 September 2026)
- Global Times, “China opens lithium carbonate futures to overseas traders” (3 July 2026)
- Lithium Americas, Thacker Pass project update (19 February 2026)
- USGS, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Lithium (February 2026)
- Argonaut, “Spodumene surges beyond US$2,000/t” (13 January 2026)
- BloombergNEF, 2025 Lithium-Ion Battery Price Survey (9 December 2025)