Challenges Mount for Belgium's Lithium Hydroxide Market Amid Global Slowdown

Antwerp, Belgium: The Lithium Hydroxide market has seen a slowdown in recent months in Belgium. The downward trend in Lithium Hydroxide prices can be attributed to a rapid decline in lithium carbonate future contract prices, poor demand, and piled-up inventories. The weakening of the Lithium Hydroxide market can also be coupled with its poor demand performance, so the supply of long-term orders has become stable. The only market transactions noted were for fulfilling long-term orders, and the bulk cargo transactions were also weak in this period.

One of the major factors for the declining prices has been weak consumer demand and oversupplied markets in Asia, and it is mainly due to a slowdown in the global adoption rate of electric vehicles amid high-interest rates, where China has seen a 78% decline in the average price of battery grade lithium carbonate since 2022. Recently, Chilean miners have imposed serious blame regarding this situation on the plunge in lithium prices on excess inventories, which are especially found in Asia. It is also considered that the global market will not rebalance till the end of next year.

Rising domestic lithium carbonate output and lower raw material prices have weighed on the Lithium Hydroxide market. Following a similar pattern to China, the US and European markets have been falling due to excess inventories and weak downstream demand.

Consumers have adopted a "wait-and-see" approach to work on their replenishment strategies. These factors complicate the delicate interplay between market participants and customer feelings, which has produced the current Lithium Hydroxide price environment.

Additionally, due to a supply glut and increased borrowing rates, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate in China has dropped by more than 75% in the last year. Lithium prices in China, the world's largest supplier of the crucial metal used in electric car batteries, are expected to plummet in 2024 as worldwide miners ramp up supply.

According to the ChemAnalyst database, the Lithium Hydroxide market in Belgium is poised to demonstrate further weakness in the first quarter of 2024. The prices of Lithium Hydroxide are anticipated to decrease further in the upcoming weeks as the present market scenario is grim, demand across the nations continues to remain poor, and anxiety over the Lithium Hydroxide market remains. Lithium Hydroxide prices in Belgium may have declined due to cautious customer behavior, complicated market dynamics, and inventory management. Increased demand, particularly in the Electric Vehicle sector, is projected to aid the revival of the EV industry.