Lithium carbonate futures in China fell more than 14% over three days after SMM changed how it estimates inventories. SMM's revised data put stockpiles at 175,000 tons, against 78,800 tons previously. The new method draws on a larger sample of manufacturers and showed stockpiling at downstream cathode-material plants, while upstream smelters and battery plants were destocking. The revision has left traders and analysts questioning the reliability of lithium inventory data, Bloomberg reported.