For the Quarter Ending March 2023
North America
The Lithium Fluoride market showcased a bearish pricing trend throughout the first quarter of 2023 in the US domestic market. In January, the prices remained on a stable level due to wait-and-see sentiments amongst the downstream players, especially after the market activities in China temporarily shut amidst the Lunar New Year holidays. In February, the market prices plummeted amid adequate inventories of the product and sluggish demand for the product from the downstream battery and cathode manufacturers in the domestic and overseas markets. In March, the prices declined further amidst inflationary pressure and increased interest rates by the central banks, due to which consumer sentiments deteriorated and demand outlook remained suppressed in the region. Thus, the prices of Lithium Fluoride CIF New York Port settled at USD 115362 per tonne at the end of Q1 2023.
APAC
The Lithium Fluoride market showcased mixed market sentiments in the Chinese domestic market in the first quarter of 2023. In January, the prices were increased and then later eased considerably in the domestic market amid a slowdown in the inquiries from the downstream industries in the region. In February, the market prices dropped considerably amid a sluggish demand outlook from the downstream industries as consumers were reluctant for new purchases. Additionally, the drop in electric vehicle sales led to negative market sentiments for Lithium Fluoride. In March, the prices tumbled further due to ample inventories of the product in the region and weak downstream demand. The consumer market sentiments showcased a wait-and-see attitude in the last two months of Q1 in China. Thus, the prices of Lithium Fluoride FOB Guangdong settled at USD 107968 per tonne at the end of Q1 2023.
Europe
In the first quarter of 2023, the overall market prices of Lithium Fluoride rode the downward trajectory in the European markets. In January 2023, the offered quotes plunged and moved similarly to the Asian market. In addition, the rising inflation and energy prices kept the operating rates restricted. In February, the prices dropped due to weaker demand from the downstream lithium-ion battery manufacturers in the Asian markets leading to restricted exports of the product and uncertainties regarding the economic conditions. In March, the prices dropped further due to lacking market competitiveness from the Asian markets and the wait-and-see consumer market sentiments across the globe. Also, the manufacturing PMI fell in March due to a drop in new orders and lower input costs in the European region.
For the Quarter Ending December 2022
North America
Overall, the Lithium Fluoride market in the North American region has remained stagnant on the prevailing trajectory. The Lithium Fluoride market in the U.S. has remained consistent, tracing an upward trajectory, and the offers quoted in the domestic market have also soared considerably. The cost support from the feedstock Lithium Hydroxide has staggered to a higher level. However, the offers for Lithium Fluoride moved against the trend of general Lithium in the domestic market. This development has been majorly attributed to the available volumes for secondary applications, as the majority of volumes are incapacitated within Lithium EV battery manufacturing. As a ripple effect, the CIF New York discussions for Lithium Fluoride were assessed at USD 143450 per tonne in December 2022.
Asia Pacific
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the Lithium Fluoride market in the Asia Pacific region has remained stagnant on an upward trajectory. This development has been majorly attributed to the availability of Lithium Fluoride on a spot basis, as the revocation of EV subsidies provided by the Chinese authorities has come to a deadline making the downstream players cautious about the upcoming developments in the domestic markets. The impact has been more than evident in the data released by the authorities, which showcased that sales witnessed a considerable plunge in October 2022. The cathode manufacturers were on a high alert and placed new inquiries cautiously. In addition, the cost support from the feedstock was likely to remain buoyed in the Chinese domestic market. As a ripple effect, the FOB Guangdong discussions for Lithium Fluoride were assessed at USD 123075 per tonne in December 2022.
Europe
The Lithium Fluoride in the European market has remained stagnant on an upward trajectory. In the first month of 2022, the offers have remained bullish on an upward trajectory prompted by the market rebound post-summer holidays. However, the drop in sales of EVs in APAC and soaring inflation with hiked interest rates have made the market players reluctant towards hasty buying streaks. In addition, the increment in the energy cost has substantially impacted the operating rates at the manufacturing facilities, curtailing the offtakes volumes by considerable margins. As a ripple effect, DDP Hamburg discussions for Lithium Fluoride were assessed at USD 142550 per tonne in December 2022.
For the Quarter Ending September 2022
North America
In the third quarter of 2022, the Lithium Fluoride market in the North American region remained tightened. This development has been majorly attributed to the insufficient stocks at manufacturing facilities to offer in the spot market. Most of the Volumes are diverted towards contractual deliveries or consumed to manufacture essential downstream products such as Lithium Hexafluorophosphate. In addition, the cost support from the key feedstocks such as Lithium Carbonate/Hydroxide has persistently improved, and the Anhydrous Hydrofluoric Acid has also staggered upwards. At the same time, the current production capacity against the active demand has widened by enormous margins, estimated showcased that 59 new mines with 45 KTPA production capacity of LCE were required with recycling to cope with the demand within this decade. As a ripple effect, the CIF New York discussions for Lithium Fluoride were assessed at USD 140600 per tonne in September.
Asia Pacific
Overall, the Lithium Fluoride market in the Asia Pacific region remained persistent in an upward trajectory. This development has been majorly attributed to the curtailed operations loads or the temporary shutdown of two major Lithium derivatives manufacturing facilities in China due to power rationing. The region faced extreme heat waves that led to a drop in water levels across major rivers in China, which proportionally impacted the overall hydropower generation that China facilitates in the domestic market. In addition, the cost supports the key feedstocks such as Lithium Hydroxide, and Anhydrous Hydrofluoric Acid hovered on a higher level against the persistent inquiries from the EVs automotive industries. At the same time, the currency fluctuations remained stagnant, and the CNY depreciated significantly against the USD, impacting the order volumes and quotations. As a ripple effect, the FOB Guangdong discussions for Lithium Fluoride were settled at USD 119570 per tonne in September.
Europe
Overall, the Lithium Fluoride market in the European region was muted for the majority of the quarter due to the prolonged summer holidays. The spot arbitrage and operation at the downstream manufacturing facilities remained subdued, and the DDP Antwerp discussions for the Lithium Fluoride assessed at USD 144600 per tonne during the quarter ending in September. The downstream manufacturers were more inclined to a long-term contractual talk rather than spot offtakes. In mid-September, as the market activities across Northwest Europe resumed, the European Union passed the "Critical Raw Material Act" to secure the supply of Lithium and rare earth metal. Its demand is anticipated to increase by five folds by 2030 to replace oil & gas in an ambition to become the climate-neutral continent. The Critical Raw Material Act will help focus on strategic applications, networking amongst the European agencies, a more resilient supply chain, and a solid & sustainable level playing field.
In the second quarter of 2022, the Lithium Fluoride market in the North American region remained bullish. The retaliatory sanctions on Russia have curtailed several essential upstream supplies of the new energy raw material, followed by the resurgence of COVID in China that worsened the situation of the supply of crucial feedstocks. Still, the market participants were active in the several upstream commodities used to manufacture the feedstock. Therefore there is a significant margin in the supply-demand outlook in the domestic market. As a ripple effect, the DDP USGC discussions for Lithium Fluoride observed an increment of +3.40% in the spot market.
During the second quarter of 2022, the Lithium Fluoride market in the Asia Pacific region observed mixed sentiments amidst the shifting demand-supply outlook in the domestic market. At the start of the quarter, Chinese authorities were forced to impose a shutdown amidst the rising COVID cases in Shanghai. That jeopardizes the assembly line operations of major automotive manufacturers, especially in the EV sector. In response, it levied an impact on the complete upstream value chain during the first half of the quarter, and the dropped quotations of Lithium Hexafluorophosphate forced the market participants to halt the inquiries for Lithium Fluoride. However, the market rebounded gradually in the second half of the quarter.
In the second quarter of 2022, the European market observed severe oscillations in the macro-economical levels that kept the Lithium Fluoride market bullish in the Northwest European and Mediterranean region. The restricted availability of the acidspar tightened the production of the critical upstream, followed by the domestic production of Lithium Fluoride in the European region. The imports remain restricted amidst the sanctions on Russia and COVID situation in the Chinese market. By the quarter end, 2% of the global freight congestion was observed in the NW-Europe amidst the ongoing protest in Germany.
