Lithium Carbonate Market Likely to Shift to a Surplus amid Increasing Supply and Falling Demand

SHANGHAI, Apr 13 (SMM) - The domestic lithium carbonate market saw a supply gap of 95 mt in March. China’s lithium carbonate output stood at 26,178 mt in March, up 41% MoM and 43% YoY. In March, smelters returned to normal production, and the release of new capacity ramped up. However, the increase in demand failed to catch up with growing supply.  The supply slowed down in April due to brief maintenance of some smelters and raw material shortages. In light of falling downstream demand, the market may shift to an oversupply in April, which is expected to result in slight downward corrections in lithium carbonate prices.