deuceswildfreedownload| Minmetals Steel Alliance's lithium carbonate spot index fell, Chile, Argentina, imports increased, power battery production, sales increased

Newsletter summary

The spot index of lithium carbonate fell 4. 5% on May 17.Deuceswildfreedownload.41%, while LC2407 fell 1.75% in the week of contract. Domestic lithium carbonate production continues to grow, Chile's exports have increased sharply, and imports are expected to remain high. The production and sales of new energy vehicles increased significantly compared with the same period last year, and the production and sales of power batteries rose year-on-year. Upstream inventory growth, lithium concentrate cost decreased slightly. Market sentiment is good, but the fundamentals of lithium carbonate are slightly weaker, it is recommended to wait and see.

Text of news flash

[Minmetals Steel Union Lithium Carbonate spot Index fell 4.41 per cent in the week] on May 17, the Minmetals Steel Union Lithium Carbonate spot Index (MMLC) was reported as high as 104237 yuan / tonne in early trading, down 4.41 per cent from the previous week. At the same time, lithium carbonate futures LC2407 contractDeuceswildfreedownloadThe closing price was 106450 yuan per tonne, showing a weekly decline of 1.75%.

[China's lithium carbonate production rose steadily, rising 23.6 per cent in April from a month earlier] according to the latest data, China's weekly lithium carbonate production is 14224 tons, up 3.9 per cent from last week. In terms of cumulative output from January to April, it increased by 80% compared with the same period last year, while the monthly output in April increased by 23.6% compared with March. The production schedule for May is expected to continue to grow, with monthly production expected to reach 60,000 tons. In Chile, exports of lithium carbonate to China rose 60 per cent in the first four months compared with the same period last year, and imports are expected to be at high levels in April and May. A number of projects in Argentina are also gradually expanding production, with imports of lithium carbonate from Argentina rising 128 per cent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, indicating that imports will continue to grow in the future.

[the demand for lithium carbonate in the new energy vehicle industry is strong, with penetration rebounding to 45 per cent in April.] according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 2.985 million and 2.94 million respectively from January to April, up 30.3% and 32.3% respectively from a year earlier. With the recovery of the post-holiday car market, the market penetration of new energy vehicles returned to 45% in the second week in May. Total production of power and other batteries reached 78.2 gigawatt hours in April, an increase of 3.2% month-on-month and 60.0% year-on-year. Cumulative production from January to April was 262.8 gigawatt hours, up 40.5 per cent from a year earlier.

[lithium carbonate stocks witnessed a small increase, upstream stocks rose significantly] SMM data on May 16 showed that weekly lithium carbonate stocks were 87049 tons, up 2.9 per cent from last week. As a result of this increase, upstream inventories increased by 3485 tons, while downstream and other stocks decreased by 991 tons. With the rebound of lithium price after continuous decline, the downstream market maintains a wait-and-see attitude, leading to an increase in upstream inventory. In addition, the number of registered warehouse orders for lithium carbonate in Guangshi rose 2.9% this week to 23848 tons.

[imported lithium concentrate prices fell slightly, domestic lithium concentrate imports increased year on year] on May 17, SMM's CIF quotation for imported SC6 lithium concentrates from Australia ranged from US $1060 / tonne to US $1180 / tonne, down 0.44 per cent during the week. Ore procurement and smelting profits outside the long-term agreement remain above the break-even point as a whole. In March, China imported nearly 400000 tons of lithium concentrate, up 17.7 per cent from a year earlier, and cumulative imports rose 25.9 per cent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year. The amount of concentrate shipped back from African mines by Huayou, Shengxin, China Mining, Ya Hua and other companies has gradually increased, and the monthly import volume has stabilized at more than 100000 tons.

[market expectations continue to be positive, but the short-term trend of lithium carbonate is uncertain] the output of lithium salt plants continues to increase, and the outlook for import supply is optimistic. In spite of this, the upstream supply is slightly loose, and the price discount has been continuously lowered, causing the main contract to fall below the RMB 102000 mark at one time. However, as the market expected the Fed to cut interest rates in advance, the non-ferrous metals sector was driven by optimistic expectations in the second half of the week, and the overall commodity market was more bullish. Nevertheless, the fundamentals of lithium carbonate are still weak, the short-term trend is uncertain, investors are advised to maintain a wait-and-see attitude. Upstream companies can lock in profits by selling hedging, or sell virtual call options with a price of 120000 yuan or more. Downstream enterprises and some traders can consider selling far-moon depth imaginary put options.