Lithium rises 7% in a month in China despite mines coming back online
Updated August 25, 2026.
VERIFIED Lithium carbonate trades at 157,000 Chinese yuan per tonne in China on August 25, 2026, down 2.18% from the previous session, according to Trading Economics. Over the past month it has risen 7.17%, reaching its highest level in a month, and it is up 92.13% over the past twelve months.
What is behind the move
HYPOTHESIS Per Trading Economics, the past month's rise reflects signs of growing demand offsetting a recent respite on the supply side. China's push to electrify its economy has driven local governments to back electricity-storage projects alongside renewable power sources — including the Medog Hydropower Station and Beijing's announcement that it will double national EV charging capacity to 180 gigawatts by 2027. This is the reading circulating this week, not a fact independently verified by this site, per Trading Economics.
HYPOTHESIS On the supply side, the same source flags uncertainty over how quickly CATL's Jianxiawo mine — one of the largest in the world — will resume operations, after being suspended last year when Beijing declined to renew its license as part of efforts to fight producer-price deflation. Limiting the rebound, Mineral Resources is restarting its Australian Bald Hill lithium mine after an 18-month suspension, and Core Lithium has restarted its Finniss project.
What this does not mean
HYPOTHESIS A 92% price increase over the year does not amount to a broad shortage: the same coverage describes mines that had sat idle for over a year coming back into production, which points to supply that can respond fairly quickly if prices stay elevated. A 7% monthly gain after months of declines mostly reflects a bounce off a low, not necessarily the start of a sustained trend.
Sources consulted on August 26, 2026: Trading Economics: Lithium, price and stats, Trading Economics: Lithium Rebounds to 1-Month High.
Educational notice: this article is analysis based on public data, may be wrong, and is not financial advice. It is not a buy or sell recommendation. The decision and the risk are always the reader's own.