Prices of the battery lithium carbonate in China surged 8 percent last week, hitting the highest weekly increase in four years, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Friday.
Since the third quarter of last year, prices of the lithium carbonate have accumulatively increased by 39 percent. Due to insufficient lithium carbonate stocks and less release of the newly-added capacity on the domestic market, prices of the lithium carbonate are expected to continue the uptrend in the future, said analysts.
Data of the China Association of Automobile Manufactures (CAAM) showed that in the first eight months of the year, output and sales of the new energy automobiles in China amounted to 118,000 units and 108,700 units, 2.6 times and 2.7 times those in the same period of last year.
Rapid development of the new energy automobiles has driven up demand for the lithium battery cathode materials. It is reported that the number of the lithium battery enterprises in China increases to about 1,000 now from the 10-odd in 2008. At least 18 listed companies in China have invested in the lithium battery projects with the investments totaling more than 50 billion yuan.
With the approach of the winter, the lithium carbonate output will likely decline, lending support to the price. In September, the USA-based FMC announced to raise prices of the lithium carbonate by 15 percent from October 1.
Given no release of the new capacity in the domestic market and the production suspension in Qinghai, a main lithium carbonate producing area, in November, prices of the lithium carbonate are expected to extend the uptrend to next year, according to a securities research report.
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