HK Stock Market Move | Lithium carbonate falls below 130,000 yuan, hitting a new low since February. Tianqi Lithium Corporation (09696) drops nearly 4%, Ganfeng Lithium Group (01772) falls over 2%.

Lithium mining stocks continue to come under pressure. As of press time, Tianqi Lithium Corporation (09696) fell 3.90% to HK$30.54; Ganfeng Lithium Group (01772) dropped 2.58% to HK$33.28. On the news front, on September 15, the decline in lithium carbonate futures continued, with the main contract falling below the 130,000 yuan/tonne mark during intraday trading, touching a low of 127,100 yuan/tonne, refreshing a new low since early February. Based on the closing price of 161,000 yuan/tonne on August 31, the main contract has retraced approximately 20% since the beginning of this month. Tonghui Futures pointed out that on the lithium salt side, SMM expanded its weekly inventory reporting scope from three categories to four and retroactively applied it to historical data, triggering market panic over hidden inventories. On the whole, this round of decline is a sentiment resonance caused by data scope expansion rather than a sudden change in fundamentals. However, with absolute inventory levels elevated, the price center has shifted downward. In the short term, the battle between bulls and bears is intense around the 140,000 yuan level. Going forward, attention should be paid to pre-National Day restocking intensity, the pace of African mine arrivals, and the resumption progress at Jiangxi mines. If demand does not show significant expansion, lithium prices may maintain a weak and range-bound pattern.