SMM January 17: since entering 2022, affected by factors such as the decrease in supply and the increase in reserve demand downstream, lithium salt headed by lithium carbonate has been rising all the way since 2022, repeatedly breaking through new highs. According to the spot price of SMM, as of January 17, the average spot price of domestic battery-grade lithium carbonate rose another 5000 yuan a day to break through the 330000 yuan / ton mark to 331000 yuan / ton. Its annual increase has been as high as 19.06%, rapidly rising at an average daily frequency of more than 5888 yuan / ton.
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Recently, the price of battery-grade lithium hydroxide, which has a strong rising mood, has also continued to rise. Today, the average price of lithium hydroxide also rose 5000 yuan a day to 272500 yuan per ton, up as high as 22.47 percent this year, with an average daily increase of more than 5555 yuan per ton.
Today's price increase "MVP" contestants are non-metallic lithium. According to SMM prices, the spot price of lithium metal today ranges from 1.66 million yuan / ton to 1.71 million yuan / ton, with an average price of 1.685 million yuan / ton, up 80, 000 yuan / ton from the previous trading day, or as high as 4.98% in a single day.
On Friday, a Chilean court ordered a moratorium on the auction of lithium contracts held earlier that week at the request of the governor of the Atacama region and the local indigenous community. The lithium contract auction dates back to October 2021, when the Chilean government announced five quotas of 80,000 tons to domestic and overseas companies. This total of 400000 tons of exploration and production contracts will guarantee the winning bidder seven years of exploration and development projects and 20 years of lithium salt production time.
On Wednesday, Chile granted 80, 000 tons of lithium quotas to BYD and local company Servicios y Operaciones Mineras del Norte, with a total value of $120 million, or about 1.8 per cent of Chile's known lithium reserves.
Earlier, some Chilean lawmakers had raised objections to the tender, and at that time the application for protest was rejected by the court on the ground that it was "too late", but now the tender has been revived.
However, the Chilean Ministry of Mines added that the order did not mean that the auction would eventually be cancelled, but that it would be suspended "as legal claims are resolved."
But there is no doubt that as soon as the news comes out, BYD's plan to lay out the lithium mine will undoubtedly be hindered, or will push lithium prices up further.
However, China International Capital Corporation believes that in the short term, political changes in Chile have a limited impact on global lithium supply and demand, but bring greater uncertainty to the long-term release of new supply. In this context, the diversification of the supply pattern of lithium resources may be further accelerated, and the acceleration of the development of potential resources in China, Argentina, Africa and other places will be the general trend.
With the Spring Festival approaching, for lithium future price trend, SMM believes that near the Spring Festival, logistics will begin to stagnate one after another next week, the current domestic upstream shipments may be reduced. After the Spring Festival, due to the poor stock preparation of enterprises in February-March, it is expected that the price of lithium phase salt will not be as stable or falling as in previous years. "View details
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