China's Lithium Carbonate Import and Export Data in November

[SMM analysis: Why did iron ore imports decline sharply in the peak season in March? It is expected to increase obviously in April.] According to the data from the General Administration of customs, China imported 87.283 million mt of iron ore and concentrate in March 2022, a month-on-month increase of 1.56% and a year-on-year decrease of 14.52%. From January to March 2022, the iron ore and concentrate imports totalled 268.36 million mt, a year-on-year decrease of 5.2%. March is the traditional peak season of steel production. However, China’s iron ore demand has decreased significantly due to multiple factors.

On April 13, Li Kuiwen, spokesman of the General Administration of Customs and director of the Department of Statistics and Analysis, said at the press conference of the State Council Information Office that in the first quarter, Chinese mechanical and electrical products and labour-intensive products maintained rapid growth, driving the export growth by 7.9%.

[General Administration of Customs: From January to March 2022, the import of steel decreased by 13.4% YoY and the exports decreased by 25.5% YoY] The General Administration of Customs released the Import and Export Value of Key Commodities in March on April 13. It showed that in terms of export, the exports of steel in March was 4.945 million mt, and the cumulative export volume from January to march was 13.179 million mt, a decrease of 25.5% year-on-year. The exports of unwrought aluminium and aluminium in March were 594,400 mt, and the cumulative exports from January to March was 1.6283 million mt，up 26.7% year-on-year.

SMM data shows that the domestic spot quotations for battery-grade lithium carbonate stood at 460,000-468,000 yuan/mt as of February 25, with the average price at 464,000 yuan/mt, up 2,000 yuan/mt.

According to SMM Prices, intraday domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate prices stood between 368,000-376,000 yuan/mt, an average of 372,000 yuan/mt, up 8,000 yuan/mt or 2.2% from yesterday.

The five-year compound growth rate of global lithium carbonate smelting capacity is expected to stand at about 20.5% while the five-year compound growth rate of global lithium hydroxide smelting capacity is estimated to be 34.3%.

China's aluminium extrusion exports in March 2021 were 58,000 mt, down 2% month-on-month and 22% year-on-year, latest customs data show.

China produced 8,958 mt of tin ore and concentrate in December, up 24.3% on the month, but down 4.2% on the year, and output totalled 94,463 mt in 2020, up 10.4% from a year ago, data from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

Myanmar’s military seized power on Monday in a coup against the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in early morning raids.

China’s rare earth exports in December stood at 4,168 mt, up 13.97% from a year earlier. Rare earth export value in December stood at 259 million yuan. Exports from January to December declined 23% year on year to 35,448 mt. Export value fell 21.3% year on year in January-December to 2.4 billion yuan.