Platts launches daily US lithium hydroxide spot price assessment

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, has launched a daily spot price assessment for US lithium hydroxide, effective Sept. 23.

The new DDP US assessment complements the Platts established suite of battery metals assessments in Asia, Europe and the Americas, and follows the addition of the first daily assessment for lithium carbonate in the US in January 2024.

The launch responds to growing demand from market participants for pricing information on battery-grade lithium hydroxide delivered into the US, as the battery supply chain further develops in the region.

North America will see increased domestic supply of battery-grade lithium salts to feed planned domestic battery cathode production capacity, although it is expected to remain largely reliant on imports for some time.

Domestic US supply is forecast to increase to just over 70,000 metric tons on a lithium carbonate equivalent basis by 2028, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights, while demand is expected to surpass 250,000 metric tons.

The new assessment specifications are as follows:

All market information reported to Platts may be considered for publication, including firm bids, offers, transactions, indications of value, as well as any other data deemed relevant to the assessment process. Platts observes direct market activity as well as the effect of movements in related markets through spread differentials, for example.

Platts initially proposed the launch on Aug. 23, in a subscriber note available at https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/082324-platts-proposes-to-launch-daily-us-lithium-hydroxide-assessment

Following market feedback, Platts communicated its decision to proceed with the proposed launch on Sept. 10: https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/our-methodology/subscriber-notes/091024-platts-to-launch-new-daily-us-lithium-hydroxide-assessment

The new assessment, as well as a related monthly average, is published on Platts Nonferrous Metals Alert pages, in Platts Metals Daily, Battery Metals Market Report and in the Platts price database under the symbols listed above. The assessment is included on pages MTL8888, PMA8888 and the monthly average on page MTL8880, alongside Platts full suite of battery metals assessments.

The new assessment, which follows the US holiday schedule, is published on a daily basis and reflects a 4:30 pm US ET market close . The first monthly average calculation will update on Oct. 31, reflecting the average of daily assessments published throughout October.

Please send feedback, comments and questions to battery_metals@spglobal.com and pricegroup@spglobal.com.

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