Supply glut further weighs on lithium salt market

SHANGHAI, Aug 20 (SMM) – Excess supplies in the battery industry accounted for a declining lithium salt market, especially for lithium carbonate, SMM believes. The decline is expected to extend in the short run. 

At the end of 2017, overall capacity across China's top 25 power battery companies stood at 144.3Gwh in theory, according to a report by research institution EVTank. The figure far exceeds demand for power batteries this year, which is expected at 51Gwh, with new-energy vehicles production forecasted at 1.1 million units, showed the report. 

As of Monday August 20, SMM assessed domestic battery-grade 99.5% lithium carbonate at 90,000-95,000 yuan/mt, down 500 yuan/mt from last Friday. The price fell an average 75,000 yuan/mt from the end of last year, when the market began its downward track. 

Separately, prices of other lithium salts also weakened, according to SMM assessment. Prices of domestic battery-grade 56.5% lithium hydroxide lost some 4,000 yuan/mt from a week ago to stand at 125,000-137,000 yuan/mt as of Monday August 20.