New York, Feb 9, 2026, 07:08 EST — Premarket
- Lithium carbonate futures in China bounced back, while spot prices hovered close to 136,000 yuan per tonne.
- Albemarle rose roughly 4.5% in U.S. premarket trading, with other lithium-related stocks also seeing gains.
- Now the spotlight shifts to producer earnings, with questions swirling over whether China’s demand can hold following a choppy January.
Chinese lithium prices ticked up on Monday, following a pullback in early February. In U.S. premarket hours, top producer stocks also saw gains.
Lithium prices have been on a wild ride, and that’s hitting both miner profits and battery manufacturers’ costs. With earnings reports and fresh guidance coming up, investors are watching closely to see if the recent rebound in prices is about to stick.
China’s lithium carbonate futures climbed to 137,000 yuan per tonne—a jump of 4,080 yuan from the previous figure, according to MacroMicro. Spot prices for lithium carbonate in China held steady at 136,000 yuan per tonne on Feb. 9, showing no movement since Feb. 6, after a drop from 147,000 yuan back on Feb. 4, SunSirs reported. The benchmark followed by Trading Economics was last at 135,500 yuan per tonne, up 0.74% for the day.
Albemarle climbed roughly 4.5% in U.S. premarket action. Shares of Chilean producer SQM traded up 0.8%. Lithium Americas popped almost 5.8%, while the Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF advanced about 4.5%.
Albemarle will report its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings on Wednesday, Feb. 11, according to a company statement. SQM, according to its investor calendar, intends to release both fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on Feb. 27.
Traders are zeroed in on two points with the stocks: just how much of the recent spot price action turns up in actual selling prices, and what management reveals about contract terms and volumes for 2026. Shifts in production plans or tweaks to cost targets? Those can hit hard in a market that wastes no time punishing any whiff of oversupply.
There’s been movement on demand forecasts as well. Last month, Reuters quoted Fubao analyst Jinyi Su, who described energy storage as a “game changer for lithium.” Still, the same report pointed out that elevated prices risk making storage projects less viable, which could put a lid on demand. Reuters
Monday’s rebound hasn’t erased the sense of fragility in the price action. If Chinese spot demand slips again or speculative positions in futures unwind further, the sector could find itself revisiting lows from earlier this month.
Now, the clock is ticking—U.S. markets are just hours away from the open, and Feb. 11 brings Albemarle’s results. That’s the first major opportunity to see if producer guidance actually matches up with what’s coming out of China on pricing.
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