Lithium Price Review and Forecast

SHANGHAI, Aug 15 (SMM) - The prices of lithium carbonate continued to rise slightly last week. The operating rates of some plants still fell short of expectations as the shortage of raw material supply could not be fundamentally solved  in the short term. Given the peak power consumption in summer, the power rationing policy is expected to extend to the end of August. Therefore, the quotations of many lithium salt plants all advanced. On the demand side, the demand for consumer electronics picked up slightly. Many LFP manufacturers continued to ramp up the production of their new production capacity. In addition, the terminal demand was recovering, and some manufacturers built up stocks apart from purchasing on rigid demand. The overall demand increased. 

At the same time, the prices of lithium hydroxide last week were flat from the previous week. Some leading manufacturers completed the maintenance at the beginning of August, but some smelters delayed the commissioning plans of new capacity. As a result, the release of production capacity was slower than expected. Subsequently, some companies raised quotations, but the transactions remained stable since trades in the middle of the month were mainly made based on rigid needs. However, due to the increase in the prices of lithium carbonate, the costs of the causticising plants rose. The prices of lithium hydroxide are expected to inch higher.