The price of battery-grade lithium carbonate exceeded 80,000 yuan/ton

Head power lithium battery orders were full and increased purchases of raw materials during the Spring Festival, boosting the price of domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate to rise again. The latest news from the business agency shows that a domestic trader quoted a high price of 80,000 yuan/ton for battery-grade lithium carbonate on January 19, which was a sharp increase of 17,000 yuan/ton from the price of 63,000 yuan/ton on January 14. , The increase was as high as 21.2%. Although the company's quotation cannot reflect the current overall real market price of battery-grade lithium carbonate, since January 2021, the price of domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate has continued to rise, and the current quotations are generally concentrated at 62,000-67 thousand yuan/ton. The industry predicts that the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate may steadily increase to 70,000 yuan/ton in the first quarter. Objectively speaking, the rise in the price of lithium carbonate is mainly driven by the tighter supply of upstream raw materials and the strong demand in the downstream battery market. The market quotation exceeding 80,000 yuan/ton will send the following signals to the market: 1. The price of battery-grade lithium carbonate is still rising in 2021. As an important raw material for cathode materials, the price of domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate will gradually rise in the second half of 2020. . From the demand side, on the one hand, the domestic new energy vehicle market was booming in the fourth quarter of last year and continued its high upward trend in the first quarter of this year. Downstream power lithium battery companies have full orders on hand. Battery companies are stepping up product delivery and accelerating production. The strong demand for upstream raw materials has supported the continued rise in the price of lithium carbonate. On the other hand, the shipments of lithium-ion batteries in other fields, including small power, electric light vehicles, base station energy storage, ships, etc., will also rise sharply in 2020, driving the rise of upstream lithium salt shipments. It is expected that in 2021, the shipments of lithium-ion batteries in the above-mentioned areas will continue to rise, becoming an important force driving the increase in lithium carbonate shipments and prices. In addition, capital market speculation will also become an important factor affecting the price changes of lithium carbonate. On the whole, strong demand in the downstream market may cause lithium carbonate to remain in a tight price increase in 2021 as a whole. As the new energy vehicle market enters the peak season in the third and fourth quarters, rising market demand may boost the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate, but it will not return to its peak in 2016. 2. The supply of lithium salt products throughout the year is tight. From the perspective of the supply side, the production of salt lakes at home and abroad was suspended in winter, the bankruptcy and reorganization of Australia's important lithium mine Altura, and the tension between China and Australia have led to a decrease in the output of upstream lithium mines and a decrease in the output of lithium extraction from the salt lake. The reduction in the supply of upstream lithium raw materials has led to a tightening of the supply of lithium carbonate. In addition, due to the impact of electricity curtailment in the southern region, the output of some manufacturers has declined, which has aggravated the tight supply of lithium carbonate market. Ganfeng Lithium said during a survey of reception organizations that the company's current supply of lithium products is tight, especially in January and February due to the Spring Festival holiday, and the product supply exceeds demand. It is expected that the supply of lithium salt products will be tight this year. 3. Lithium salt companies accelerate the release of new production. Driven by the continuous increase in downstream market demand, lithium salt companies may accelerate the release of new production and ensure a stable supply of raw materials. At present, lithium salt companies including Ganfeng Lithium, Tianqi Lithium, Shengxin Lithium, Yongxing New Energy, Zhiyuan Lithium, and Lanke Lithium have plans to expand their production. As the price of lithium picks up and demand rises, the aforementioned companies may accelerate the release of new lithium salt production. At the same time, in order to ensure the stable supply of raw materials and reduce costs, the head lithium salt company is also improving its product profitability by signing strategic supply contracts or acquiring shares in upstream lithium mining companies.