According to the data monitoring of business agency, the price of industrial grade and battery grade lithium carbonate increased slightly this week, and only some enterprises increased the price slightly. On October 14, the average price of industrial grade lithium carbonate in East China was 171600 yuan / ton, which was 1.18% higher than that in early Zhou (the average price of industrial grade lithium carbonate in East China was 169600 yuan / ton on October 10). On October 14, the average price of battery grade lithium carbonate in East China was 178800 yuan / ton, which was 1.13% higher than that in early Zhou (the average price of battery grade lithium carbonate in East China was 176800 yuan / ton on October 10). As of October 13, the comprehensive quotation of industrial grade lithium carbonate market is about 165000 ~ 188000 yuan / ton, and the comprehensive quotation of battery grade lithium carbonate market is about 175000 ~ 205000 yuan / ton.

From the observation of market changes, the price of lithium carbonate gradually stabilized after the National Day holiday. Due to the influence of the “dual control of energy consumption” policy, the production reduction of downstream enterprises still continued, so the demand was relatively reduced, making the price of lithium carbonate rise slowly. At present, the market is mostly in a wait-and-see state, and there are relatively few transactions. In addition, the obvious delay in the expansion of iron lithium market and the lower than expected increase in demand are also one of the factors contributing to the slow rise in the price of lithium carbonate.

In September 2021, China’s lithium carbonate output was about 19557 tons, with a month on month decrease of 5% and a year-on-year increase of 22%. At the end of September, the impact of power rationing and geological disasters in many places in China had a slight impact on lithium salt production. The output of lithium carbonate extracted from spodumene also decreased, while the output of lithium mica and Salt Lake changed little. In October, the impact of film restrictions gradually eased, the output increased relatively, and the relationship between market supply and demand was alleviated.

The downstream domestic industrial lithium hydroxide market operates stably. At present, the raw material price is high, the cost side has a certain support, the demand side of industrial lithium hydroxide is relatively stable, and the market trading atmosphere is acceptable.

In terms of lithium iron phosphate, as the price of lithium carbonate remains high and the price of iron phosphate continues to rise, the price of lithium iron phosphate fluctuates with the cost of raw materials. At present, the overall demand is good, the power and small power demand are upward, and the price transmission is good.

According to the lithium carbonate analysts of business society, the current gas and power restrictions have a certain impact on upstream and downstream production. There is a strong wait-and-see mood in the market. The lithium salt supply and demand structure is still in the tension of going to the warehouse. It is expected that the short-term lithium carbonate price may rise slowly or maintain stability temporarily.