Lithium Prices Retreat Toward $23,090 per Tonne

The fall was due to the changing risk sentiment following months of aggressive upside, and not the abrupt worsening of the underlying demand.

Lithium prices faced renewed pressure on February 1–2 as a broad pullback swept through commodities, echoing similar cooling moves seen in gold and silver.

Data Shows Momentum Cooling After Steep Rally

According to Trading Economics, lithium carbonate prices fell to $23,090/t, down 4.46% on the day, marking one of the sharpest daily declines in recent weeks. Despite the drop, the metal remains up 35.44% on the month and 106.70% year-on-year, highlighting how elevated current levels remain.

According to the long-term chart, there is a strong recovery at mid-2025 in the lows of around $8,630/t, and then a steep rise up to the early period of 2026. Such a run-up is similar to what has been happening in silver of late, where soaring momentum runs eventually succumbed to abrupt volatility resets.

The annual recovery with a sudden pullback on a day-to-day basis is an indicator of high volatility after a lengthy upward surge in the prices of lithium. Statistics as of 2026 February 2, Charts by Trading Economics .

The more general commodities dashboard validates the change. Platinum fell 3.00% on the day, and gold and silver traded at 3.66% and 3.35%, respectively. Synchronized selloff indicates that it is a macro-driven repositioning, and not a weakness of the asset in question.

During this stage, materials that are related to batteries are being traded more as financial instruments rather than as industrial supplies. Just like the recent surge-and-reset cycle of silver, the extreme positioning exposed prices to vulnerability on the decline of risk appetite.

Forced Deleveraging Intraday Breakdown.

On February 2, 2026, analyst Carl Capolingua described the action as a broader speculative unwind. In his chart, it is observed that the futures failed around the area of $21,990 per tonne and then fell to the area of $21,010/t, selling into lower demand areas.

Price stabilized, momentarily, in the range of $20,450/t, but was unable to do so due to limited dip-buying; the slide was able to move further to the range of $20,140/t. High volume and open interest indicate forced deleveraging and not systematic profit-taking.

Lithium futures disintegrated due to a speculative supply area, and the liquidation pressure forced the price to lower supply on to the deeper demand areas in the context of a macro risk-off shift. Chart by Carl Capolingua Via X, Feb 2, 2026)

Underlying fundamentals remain supportive. Australian producers have reported strong realized pricing, with one major miner citing a 57% increase in average prices and January spot levels surging from roughly $600 per tonne in mid-2025 to near $2,500. Policy support in China and EV demand continue to underpin the longer-term outlook.

Nevertheless, sentiment-driven markets seldom run along straight lines, just as they can be observed in precious metals. The volatility is bound to continue even after the demand expectations are stable until prices regain recent breakdown levels.