According to the monitoring of the commodity market analysis system of the Business Society, the price decline of industrial grade and battery grade lithium carbonate continued to increase this week. On August 17th, the average domestic mixed price of industrial grade lithium carbonate was 222000 yuan/ton, a decrease of 10.48% compared to the average price of 248000 yuan/ton on August 13th. The average domestic mixed price of battery grade lithium carbonate on August 17th was 238600 yuan/ton, a decrease of 9.83% compared to the average price of 264600 yuan/ton on August 13th.

By observing market changes, it can be seen that the price of lithium carbonate has continued to decline and expand this week. In terms of supply, the current upstream inventory is relatively high, and the production output of lithium salt plants fluctuates little, resulting in sufficient circulation of goods in the spot market. In addition, the continuous decline in lithium carbonate futures prices has driven the price of lithium carbonate to continue to decline.

In terms of demand, due to the continuous downward trend of lithium carbonate prices and a weak market mentality, downstream procurement has become more cautious, and the atmosphere of loose orders and transactions in the market has remained weak. However, downstream procurement has not yet started on a large scale, and there has been no significant improvement on the demand side. The overall market situation of oversupply is maintained. At present, many businesses are bearish about the future market, so the trend of purchasing underpricing is not decreasing.

The price of lithium hydroxide has shown a downward trend, but due to the weak and stable operation of the lithium ore market recently, the price of lithium carbonate has continued to be low, and cost support is weak. In addition, downstream demand is weak, and the enthusiasm for inquiry and procurement is not high. Market transactions are mainly based on demand, and the market is operating weakly.

The price trend of downstream lithium iron phosphate is downward, with weak support for upstream raw material costs and poor market demand. Downstream procurement is mainly based on demand, with weak willingness to stock up. The overall procurement atmosphere is cold and deserted, and the inventory level is currently high, with a stable operating rate.

In terms of futures, on August 17th, the opening price of the LC2401 contract for lithium carbonate futures on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange was 196000 yuan/ton, with the latest price of 194000 yuan/ton, a daily decrease of 1.7%, with 68000 transactions and 26791 positions.

Lithium carbonate analysts from Business Society believe that some businesses are still affected by inventory pressure and bearish aftermarket conditions, and the phenomenon of reducing prices to promote transactions still exists. In the future, it is still necessary to pay attention to the actual demand for downstream procurement and replenishment, and it is expected that the price of lithium carbonate will continue to decline weakly in the short term.