It said prices for EXW China technical grade carbonate rose 7.8% to average US$13,775 per tonne and EXW China battery grade carbonate gained 4.5% to an average $14,250/t.
The battery materials research and price reporting agency said spot pricing had ramped up, driving by downstream demand from domestic cell production which reached a record 17.4 GWh of output in July.
EXW China hydroxide prices rose 7% over the two weeks to average $16,550/t, taking the year-to-date gain above 100% to 106.9%.
"Benchmark anticipates spodumene market dynamics will mutually reinforce [the] hydroxide rally, given the growing propensity of Tier 2 and 3 converters to pay premiums for any feedstock material available on a spot basis; indicated by Pilbara Minerals' recent spodumene auction," it said.
Benchmark recently said it continued to "closely monitor" the new sodium-ion battery technology, unveiled last month by leading Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL), but noted a shift to a new chemistry "would be unlikely to take hold in the short-to-mid-term".
