Price trend

According to the data monitoring of SunSirs, the price of industrial and battery grade lithium carbonate fell again and again this week. The average domestic mixed price of industrial grade lithium carbonate on February 16 was 426,600 RMB/ton, down 3.4% from the average price of 441,600 RMB/ton on February 12. The average domestic mixed price of battery grade lithium carbonate was 452,600 RMB/ton on February 16, down 3.21% from the average price of 467,600 RMB/ton on February 12.

Analysis review

From the observation of market changes, lithium carbonate prices continued to maintain a downward trend this week. In terms of supply, lithium carbonate production enterprises maintained steady production, and the mica smelting enterprises affected by environmental protection events in the early stage resumed production, and the new capacity climbed significantly. As the temperature warmed up, the Saltlake output increased, and the total output slightly increased, leading to an increase in the overall supply.

In terms of demand, the overall recovery of downstream and terminal markets was slower than expected, and the load rate of some production lines remained low. In addition, the price of lithium carbonate continued to decline, making the industry in a wait-and-see state, without a large number of purchases, and the market mainly based on demand to buy.

The downstream lithium hydroxide market declined, the upstream spodumene market was in weak operation recently, and the price of lithium carbonate also fell. The market mentality was insufficient, the willingness of downstream merchants to receive goods was not high, the actual market transactions were limited, and most of them were low-price orders. The negotiation focus of lithium hydroxide declined, and the wait-and-see atmosphere was strong.

The price of lithium iron phosphate in the downstream market had declined, and the cost of lithium iron phosphate had declined due to the falling price of lithium carbonate. In addition, the precursor iron phosphate enterprises generally had a large inventory, and the price fluctuated violently and continued to decline. The recovery of market demand was also less than expected, and the purchase demand was relatively low in the short term.

Market outlook

According to the lithium carbonate analyst of SunSirs, as of February 16, the lithium carbonate production gradually increased, the downstream demand performance was weak, and the power end market still showed no obvious signs of recovery. Considering the actual inventory digestion, it is expected that the low price of lithium carbonate will continue to fluctuate and decline in the short term.

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