According to the data monitoring of business agency, the prices of industrial grade and battery grade lithium carbonate continued to rise at the beginning of the month this week. On August 12, the average price of industrial grade lithium carbonate in East China was 95800 yuan / ton, which was 4.59% higher than that in early Zhou (the average price of industrial grade lithium carbonate in East China was 91600 yuan / ton on August 8). On August 12, the average price of battery grade lithium carbonate in East China was 99000 yuan / ton, which was 4.43% higher than that in early Zhou (the average price of battery grade lithium carbonate in East China was 94800 yuan / ton on August 8). On the 12th, the comprehensive quotation of industrial grade lithium carbonate market was about 94000 ~ 100000 yuan / ton, and the comprehensive quotation of battery grade lithium carbonate market was about 98000 ~ 104000 yuan / ton.

From the observation of market changes, the recent price rise of lithium carbonate is gratifying, and the market demand has increased significantly. With the tight supply of goods, the price is changing almost at any time, and some enterprises suspend quotation due to frequent price fluctuations. From the perspective of the production expansion rate of cathode materials in the second half of this year, the demand for lithium salt began to increase, and the situation of short supply may continue to maintain, which also brings a positive trend to the development of lithium salt market in the future. Coupled with the rapid development of new energy vehicle industry, the lithium resource sector is favored by the market.

The price of domestic industrial grade lithium hydroxide in the downstream continues to rise. Due to the high price of spodumene and pressure on the cost, some smelters are still in the maintenance period, the tight spot supply situation continues, the demand side performs well, and the market atmosphere is active, driving the price focus upward. In terms of lithium iron phosphate, the market mainly operates stably, the supply and demand are balanced, the price trend is stable, the downstream just needs to purchase, the price fluctuation range is small, and the negotiation atmosphere is flat.

On August 11, the lithium carbonate commodity index was 242.55, up 4.08 points from yesterday, down 40.13% from the highest point 405.10 in the cycle (2018-01-07), and up 146.14% from the lowest point 98.54 on October 16, 2014（ Note: period refers to the period from September 1, 2011 to now)

The lithium carbonate analyst of business society believes that at present, the price of spodumene at the upstream raw material end of lithium carbonate market is high, while the downstream demand is rapid, resulting in a tight supply of lithium carbonate. In addition, the output of salt lakes in Qinghai will decrease relatively after the third quarter, which will boost the price of lithium carbonate. It is expected that the price of lithium carbonate may continue to rise in the short term.