China NEV production dropped 41% YoY in November

Carbon neutrality stocks have attracted market attention recently. In December 2020, the Central Economic Work Conference determined that promoting a peak in coal consumption and carbon neutrality are one of the key tasks to be focused in 2021. China is aiming to improve the system that caps both national carbon intensity－carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP－and energy consumption, as it strives to reach a peak in carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. Carbon neutrality refers to achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions by balancing carbon dioxide emissions with removal (often through carbon offsetting) or simply eliminating carbon dioxide emissions altogether. It is used in the context of carbon dioxide-releasing processes associated with transportation, energy production, agriculture, and industrial processes. Carbon neutrality is expected be an important part of the "Two Sessions" and the "14th Five-Year Plan” to be held this week. 

China's output of hot-rolled coils and plates is likely to remain high in September, as steelmakers recover from maintenance and high profits encourage mills to produce.

Tight cobalt raw materials supply in China has gradually eased, and major traders expect refined cobalt prices to rise amid market talks that the government would collect and storage 2,000 mt of cobalt in late 2020. Prices of lithium salts were stable, with some producers planning to raise prices slightly.

Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) showed that 2.33 million and 2.3 million automobiles were produced and sold, respectively, in China last month.

China’s sales of new energy passenger cars increased 25% month on month to 83,000 units in June, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released on Thursday. 

Major Chinese steelmakers continued to ramp up production in early June, after the country’s steel output hit a record high in the previous month.

According to statistics from the United States Geological Survey in 2015, the world's proven land cobalt resources were about 25 million mt, with reserves of 7.2 million mt. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Australia and Cuba accounted for 68% of the global cobalt reserves. Congo (Gold) is the country with the most abundant cobalt reserves. As of 2014, cobalt reserves in Congo stood at 3.4 million mt, accounting for more than 50% of the world’s total.

Demand for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in the new energy vehicle market, which enjoy more cost advantage as compared to high-nickel ternary batteries, will likely increase with support from the latest 2020 NEV subsidy policy, under which only passenger cars costing less than 300,000 yuan/unit will receive subsidies. 

Only 12,000 NEVs produced in China obtained qualification certificates in February, down 77.4% from a year ago, according to SMM data. Passenger vehicles accounted for 11,000 units, or 94.7%, while 300 were buses, taking up 2.9%. The rest 300 were special vehicles, accounting for 2.5% of the total.

SMM data showed that China produced 683,100 mt of copper cathode last month, down 5.9% from January and 5.07% from February 2019. China produced 5.4 million mt of alumina in February, with metallurgical-grade material accounting for 5.17 million mt.