Price trend

According to the monitoring of the data of SunSirs, the price of industrial and battery grade lithium carbonate fell unabated this week. The average domestic mixed price of industrial grade lithium carbonate on March 2 was 375,600 RMB/ton, down 6.24% from the average price of 400,600 RMB/ton on February 26. The average domestic mixed price of battery grade lithium carbonate on March 2 was 401,000 RMB/ton, down 4.98% from the average price of 422,000 RMB/ton on February 26.

Analysis review

From the observation of market changes, lithium carbonate prices continued to decline this week. In terms of supply, the lithium industry branch of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association showed that China's lithium industry maintained a relatively rapid growth rate in 2022, with lithium carbonate output of 395,000 tons (capacity of about 600,000 tons). With the gradual warming of the temperature in Qinghai Salt Lake and other places, the domestic lithium carbonate production continues to increase, which will also alleviate the tension between supply and demand to some extent.

On the demand side, as of March 2, the impact of the cost side on the lithium salt price had been weakened, and the demand side was the dominant factor. The accelerated decline in lithium salt prices may be related to the decline in the production and sales of new energy vehicles. On February 17, the media reported that Ningde Times launched a "lithium ore rebate" plan to auto companies. According to this plan, in the next three years, part of the lithium carbonate for power batteries in Ningde Times will be settled with four strategic customers at the price of 200000 RMB/ton. The launch of the "lithium rebate" plan also had a great impact on the decline of lithium carbonate prices.  

Market outlook

According to lithium carbonate analysts of SunSirs, the supply side of the lithium industry chain had increased. In addition, the downstream demand continued to be weak. In the situation of strong supply and weak demand, the price of lithium salt products dropped rapidly. It is expected that the price of lithium carbonate will continue to decline in the short term.

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