Natural Graphite is not traded on any commodity exchange and prices are subject to negotiations between suppliers and consumers on a contract basis. Pricing is determined by a number of factors such as carbon content, flake size, level of present impurities, and degree of processing. Proximity to the market can also play a role in price negotiations. Both flake graphite and amorphous graphite are sold as concentrates following basic processing; prices are available for grades of up to 97% and 85% carbon content, respectively. An increasing amount of flake graphite undergoes further processing such as thermal and chemical purification, with higher carbon content fetching substantially higher prices. Other modifications such as shaping(eg spherroidisation), micronisation and expansion required for specialty applications also command higher prices.
China as the main producing country has been the crucial driver for natural graphite peices ocer the last couple of decades. Its prices, historically much lower than those of other major producers, have gone up due to rising costs of labour and energy, greater domestic demand, and a shift towards the domestic development of the lithium-ion battery value chain. The projected surge in demand for lithium-ion batteries has given rise to availability concerns, further adding to price rises.
More recently, changing environmental regulations and Chinese processing plant closures led to an increase in prices in early 2018. Rising demand for flake graphite from the lithium-ion battery industry and tightening supply contributed to further price increases, particularly for higher carbon content grades. Prices have since experienced a downward adjustment to 2017 levels across some flake sizes, mainly attributed to a slower than expected demand increase and ongoing oversupply woes og the Chinese market along with additional new supply from outside China.
