Import origins by country since 2010
Where US imports come from each month, by country and grade.
Lithium Price per kg (United States)
On the US Critical Minerals List and the EU Critical Raw Materials Act list.
Price per kg contained
$89.62
- 1M
- +24.4%
- 6M
- +54.6%
- 1Y
- +59.9%
- 5Y
- +193.4%
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Lithium price chart
The Stockatomics monthly US benchmark for lithium, in US dollars per kg contained.
$89.62
- 1m
- +24.4%
- 6m
- +54.6%
- 1y
- +59.9%
- 5y
- +193.4%
18 October 2026
- Benchmark price
- $89.62
- Import volume
- Locked
- All-imports price
- Locked
- Premium-priced imports
- Locked
- China share of imports
- Locked
- China unit-value spread
- Locked
- Origin countries
- Locked
At a glance
Lithium price key figures
- Price per kg contained
- $89.62
- 1-month change
- +24.4%
- 6-month change
- +54.6%
- 1-year change
- +59.9%
- 5-year change
- +193.4%
- 12-month high
- $89.62
- 12-month low
- $55.04
- Price month
- October 2026
- Price type
- Stockatomics monthly benchmark
- Last updated
- 18 October 2026
By month
Lithium monthly prices
The lithium benchmark for every month from January 2010 to October 2026, in US dollars per kg contained, newest first.
| Month | Price per kg contained | Change |
|---|---|---|
| $89.62 | 0.0% | |
| $89.62 | 0.0% | |
| $89.62 | +24.4% | |
| $72.02 | −15.1% | |
| $84.79 | +25.5% | |
| $67.58 | +0.3% | |
| $67.36 | −0.1% | |
| $67.42 | +16.3% | |
| $57.98 | +3.4% | |
| $56.07 | −3.4% | |
| $58.02 | +5.4% | |
| $55.04 | −4.1% | |
| $57.38 | −2.9% | |
| $59.07 | +5.4% | |
| $56.06 | −0.8% | |
| $56.51 | +0.4% | |
| $56.26 | +17.1% | |
| $48.05 | −3.3% | |
| $49.70 | −2.1% | |
| $50.77 | −10.8% | |
| $56.90 | +6.0% | |
| $53.70 | −11.9% | |
| $60.98 | +14.0% | |
| $53.49 | −8.2% | |
| $58.27 | −4.1% | |
| $60.79 | −7.7% | |
| $65.88 | +4.0% | |
| $63.32 | −0.4% | |
| $63.59 | −0.1% | |
| $63.68 | −4.1% | |
| $66.42 | −14.6% | |
| $77.76 | −14.7% | |
| $91.20 | +10.5% | |
| $82.55 | −0.2% | |
| $82.73 | +10.1% | |
| $75.15 | +8.8% | |
| $69.04 | −7.1% | |
| $74.34 | +1.9% | |
| $72.97 | −31.6% | |
| $106.65 | −35.3% | |
| $164.94 | +30.2% | |
| $126.71 | +48.7% | |
| $85.19 | −3.5% | |
| $88.27 | +52.9% | |
| $57.72 | −27.9% | |
| $80.08 | +2.2% | |
| $78.36 | +4.1% | |
| $75.27 | +11.3% | |
| $67.63 | −22.1% | |
| $86.77 | +24.5% | |
| $69.69 | +25.9% | |
| $55.35 | −6.1% | |
| $58.96 | +35.9% | |
| $43.40 | +28.6% | |
| $33.76 | −27.1% | |
| $46.33 | +23.4% | |
| $37.55 | +22.2% | |
| $30.74 | −9.1% | |
| $33.80 | +8.2% | |
| $31.25 | +5.3% | |
| $29.69 | −3.4% | |
| $30.72 | +0.6% | |
| $30.55 | −13.2% | |
| $35.18 | −5.4% | |
| $37.17 | +25.4% | |
| $29.64 | −11.8% | |
| $33.59 | +13.9% | |
| $29.50 | −28.8% | |
| $41.42 | +11.9% | |
| $37.00 | +11.2% | |
| $33.28 | +8.0% | |
| $30.82 | −12.6% | |
| $35.27 | +14.1% | |
| $30.90 | +5.4% | |
| $29.32 | −17.0% | |
| $35.32 | +9.1% | |
| $32.38 | −3.2% | |
| $33.44 | +4.4% | |
| $32.03 | −7.2% | |
| $34.51 | +6.1% | |
| $32.53 | −29.1% | |
| $45.87 | +24.0% | |
| $36.99 | +20.8% | |
| $30.61 | −15.2% | |
| $36.08 | +5.6% | |
| $34.16 | −9.1% | |
| $37.60 | −20.5% | |
| $47.28 | +34.3% | |
| $35.21 | −17.5% | |
| $42.69 | −18.5% | |
| $52.41 | −3.6% | |
| $54.34 | −9.9% | |
| $60.34 | +49.4% | |
| $40.39 | −35.9% | |
| $62.97 | +22.5% | |
| $51.42 | −8.7% | |
| $56.31 | +24.9% | |
| $45.07 | −15.7% | |
| $53.44 | +47.6% | |
| $36.21 | −3.1% | |
| $37.37 | +18.5% | |
| $31.53 | −8.6% | |
| $34.50 | +5.0% | |
| $32.85 | +4.5% | |
| $31.43 | +54.3% | |
| $20.37 | −9.9% | |
| $22.60 | −13.8% | |
| $26.22 | +21.2% | |
| $21.63 | −27.3% | |
| $29.76 | +15.1% | |
| $25.86 | +3.0% | |
| $25.11 | +7.3% | |
| $23.41 | −21.5% | |
| $29.82 | +16.9% | |
| $25.51 | −13.1% | |
| $29.36 | +0.8% | |
| $29.13 | +10.0% | |
| $26.49 | +3.2% | |
| $25.68 | +3.7% | |
| $24.76 | −27.2% | |
| $33.99 | +21.9% | |
| $27.88 | −2.8% | |
| $28.69 | +11.3% | |
| $25.77 | −0.3% | |
| $25.86 | +4.3% | |
| $24.79 | +4.2% | |
| $23.80 | −11.8% | |
| $26.97 | +8.8% | |
| $24.79 | −4.6% | |
| $25.99 | +0.3% | |
| $25.92 | −2.6% | |
| $26.60 | +4.0% | |
| $25.57 | +5.2% | |
| $24.31 | −0.1% | |
| $24.34 | +8.7% | |
| $22.39 | −2.4% | |
| $22.93 | +3.4% | |
| $22.18 | −6.6% | |
| $23.74 | +5.6% | |
| $22.48 | −4.8% | |
| $23.62 | −6.3% | |
| $25.20 | +7.5% | |
| $23.45 | −1.8% | |
| $23.88 | −0.8% | |
| $24.08 | 0.0% | |
| $24.09 | +1.0% | |
| $23.85 | −2.4% | |
| $24.44 | +2.5% | |
| $23.85 | +6.4% | |
| $22.41 | −6.6% | |
| $24.00 | +10.7% | |
| $21.68 | −9.5% | |
| $23.95 | −0.2% | |
| $23.99 | +3.5% | |
| $23.18 | −2.3% | |
| $23.73 | +1.1% | |
| $23.47 | +13.3% | |
| $20.72 | −13.1% | |
| $23.83 | +2.5% | |
| $23.26 | −1.7% | |
| $23.67 | +2.6% | |
| $23.07 | −4.4% | |
| $24.14 | +11.0% | |
| $21.75 | +1.9% | |
| $21.35 | −1.4% | |
| $21.65 | −3.0% | |
| $22.33 | −5.9% | |
| $23.72 | +10.7% | |
| $21.43 | +8.0% | |
| $19.84 | −8.6% | |
| $21.71 | +6.9% | |
| $20.31 | −2.7% | |
| $20.87 | −4.3% | |
| $21.80 | −13.0% | |
| $25.07 | +7.9% | |
| $23.23 | +12.0% | |
| $20.75 | −16.8% | |
| $24.94 | +10.1% | |
| $22.65 | +0.5% | |
| $22.53 | −0.8% | |
| $22.71 | +0.4% | |
| $22.63 | +1.7% | |
| $22.26 | +4.0% | |
| $21.40 | +1.1% | |
| $21.16 | +33.8% | |
| $15.81 | −18.6% | |
| $19.42 | −6.5% | |
| $20.77 | +15.8% | |
| $17.94 | −5.0% | |
| $18.89 | −3.4% | |
| $19.56 | +3.4% | |
| $18.91 | −17.1% | |
| $22.80 | +4.8% | |
| $21.75 | −8.7% | |
| $23.82 | +4.6% | |
| $22.78 | −43.4% | |
| $40.25 | +67.2% | |
| $24.07 | +17.6% | |
| $20.46 | −15.6% | |
| $24.25 | +0.7% | |
| $24.09 | +5.9% | |
| $22.75 | - |
Summary
Lithium price summary
Lithium is trading at a 12-month high of $89.62 per kg contained.
Over the past 12 months it has ranged from $55.04 to $89.62 per kg contained.
Over one year the price has changed +59.9%, and over five years +193.4%.
Uses
What lithium is used for
Lithium (Li) is the lightest metal, and its largest use by far is in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries: electric vehicles, phones and laptops, power tools and grid-scale energy storage. Battery makers buy it as lithium carbonate or hydroxide, depending on the cathode chemistry, and the shift between nickel-rich and lithium iron phosphate batteries shapes which form is in demand.
Other uses
- Ceramics and glass, where it lowers melting temperatures and adds strength
- Lubricating greases that work across a wide temperature range
- Aluminum-lithium alloys for aircraft
- Medicines and air treatment
Market
Lithium supply and demand factors
Demand for lithium follows battery production, above all for electric vehicles and energy storage, and it has grown faster than almost any other commodity. Supply comes from hard-rock spodumene mines, led by Australia, and from brines in South America and China, with refining concentrated in China. New supply takes years to build, so the market lurches between shortage and glut: a boom pulls in new mines, which then arrive just as demand slows.
What moves the price
- Electric vehicle sales and the mix of battery chemistries
- Energy storage installations
- New mine and refinery capacity, and mine closures when prices fall
- Chinese demand and inventory cycles
History
Lithium price history
Lithium has had the wildest price history of any battery material. After a first boom in 2016 and 2017, prices slumped, then rose roughly tenfold in 2021 and 2022 as electric vehicle demand outran supply. The collapse that followed in 2023 and 2024 was just as steep, forcing mines in Australia and elsewhere to cut output or close.
Supply discipline in China and closures elsewhere have since steadied the market. As of October 2026, the Stockatomics benchmark price is $89.62 per kg contained.
Production
Where lithium is produced
Most of the world's lithium is mined in Australia, from spodumene, and in Chile and Argentina, from brines, with China, Zimbabwe and Brazil also major producers. China is the largest refiner, converting much of the world's concentrate into chemicals. The United States has small domestic production and several projects in development.
Criticality
Why lithium is a critical mineral
Lithium is on the US critical minerals list and the EU critical raw materials list. Battery supply chains depend on it, demand is rising fast, and mining and especially refining are concentrated in a few countries, with China dominant in chemical processing.
Benchmark
How the lithium benchmark price is calculated
Stockatomics publishes a monthly US benchmark price for lithium in US dollars per kg contained, reading as of October 2026. The price is per kg of contained lithium, which lets lithium carbonate, hydroxide and other products be compared on the same basis. Most market quotes, by contrast, are per tonne of lithium carbonate or hydroxide.
Converting the price
- Lithium carbonate contains about 18.8% lithium, so a price per kg of carbonate is about 0.188 times the contained price
- Lithium hydroxide monohydrate contains about 16.5% lithium, so a price per kg of hydroxide is about 0.165 times the contained price
- Per tonne of carbonate: multiply the contained price by 188
Stocks
Lithium stocks
Listed companies with lithium in their business, and their role in it.
| Company | Ticker | Exchange | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albemarle | ALB | NYSE | Producer |
| Eramet | ERAMET | EPA | Producer |
| IGO | IGO | ASX | Producer |
| Liontown Resources | LTR | ASX | Producer |
| Mineral Resources | MIN | ASX | Producer |
| Pilbara Minerals | PLS | ASX | Producer |
| Rio Tinto | RIO | NYSE | Producer |
| Sociedad Quimica y Minera | SQM | NYSE | Producer |
Stockatomics Terminal
More lithium data in the Terminal
The Stockatomics Terminal has the full picture for lithium, for subscribers.
Full price history with all import series
The benchmark beside the all-imports and premium-priced import prices, with volumes.
Supply scores and constraints
Supply concentration, elasticity and the constraints behind them.
Companies and production exposure
Which listed companies produce it, and how much of their value depends on it.
FAQ
Lithium price FAQ
What is the price of lithium per kg today?
The Stockatomics US benchmark price of lithium is $89.62 per kg contained as of October 2026. Stockatomics updates it every month.
What drives the price of lithium?
Mainly battery demand, especially for electric vehicles and energy storage, against new mine and refinery supply, which takes years to build and tends to arrive in waves.
What is the difference between lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide?
Both are battery-grade lithium chemicals. Carbonate is used mainly in lithium iron phosphate batteries, while hydroxide is preferred for high-nickel cathodes, so the mix of battery chemistries decides which is in demand.
Where is lithium refined?
China refines most of the chemical grades used in batteries, including much of the spodumene concentrate mined in Australia, although new refineries are being built in Australia, the US and Europe.
How is the lithium benchmark price calculated?
The Stockatomics benchmark for lithium is a monthly US price in US dollars per kg contained, published every month and current as of October 2026. How the benchmark is calculated.
Sources
Sources
- U.S. trade data: the monthly lithium price.
- U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): the US critical minerals list.
- Company filings: the listed companies and their roles.