SunSirs: The Price of Lithium Carbonate Continues to Rise, and It May Continue to Be Bullish in the Short Term

　　Price trend

　　According to the data monitoring of SunSirs, the price of industrial-grade and battery-grade lithium carbonate continue to rise this week, and the increase is relatively large. On August 18, the average price of industrial-grade lithium carbonate in East China was 100,200 RMB/ton, which was a 4.59% increase compared with the beginning of the week (the average price of industrial-grade lithium carbonate in East China was 95,800 RMB/ton on August 15). On August 18, the average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate in East China was 105,000 RMB/ton, which was a 6.06% increase compared with the beginning of the week (the average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate in East China was 99,000 RMB/ton on August 15). On the 18th, the comprehensive market quotation of the industrial grade lithium carbonate was around 98,000~105,000 RMB/ton, and the comprehensive market quotation of the battery-grade lithium carbonate was around 103,000~111,000 RMB/ton.

　　Analysis review

　　From the observation of market changes, it can be said that the price of lithium carbonate has been rising continuously this week, and the rate of increase has continued to expand, and many companies have seen substantial price adjustments. Due to the current good market demand for low-end electric vehicles in China, the lithium iron phosphate route is favored, and the demand for lithium carbonate is relatively good. Coupled with the rapid increase in the price of spodumene, which also drives the price of lithium carbonate to rise. Recently, Ganfeng Lithium (002460.SZ), Tianqi Lithium (002466.SZ), and Salt Lake (000792.SZ) have risen all the way.

　　The downstream domestic industrial-grade lithium hydroxide prices have risen again, the downstream demand is still buying, the market enquiry atmosphere is positive, the company’s offer is high, and the low-price supply is difficult to find. In terms of lithium iron phosphate, the current mainstream price range of lithium iron phosphate power is 51,000-55,000 RMB/ton, and the price range of energy storage type lithium iron phosphate is 46,000-49,500 RMB/ton. The lithium iron phosphate market has risen steadily, and will run steadily and strongly in the short term.

　　The Lithium Carbonate Commodity Index on August 17 was 246.11, the same as previous day, a decrease of 39.25% from the cycle high of 405.10 points (2018-01-07), and an increase of 149.76% from the lowest point of 98.54 on October 16, 2014. (Note: Period refers to 2011-09-01 to present)

　　Market outlook

　　Lithium carbonate analysts of SunSirs believe that some lithium carbonate companies are relatively in short supply at the moment, and they suspend external quotations and focus on price negotiations at the end of the month. Therefore, the price may still have room for increase. It is expected that the price of lithium carbonate may continue to rise in the short term.