Good News & Bad News, page-3330

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• METALS
  
• 11 Aug 2021 | 10:16 UTC

Lithium prices set to stay high in H2 as China's new energy vehicle sales soar in July

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• AuthorStaff
• EditorManish Parashar
• CommodityMetals
• TagsLithium, Battery Metals

HIGHLIGHTS
Spodumene supply seen tightening
China's NEV sales could soar 76% on year in 2021

China's new energy vehicle sales continued their record growth in July, even as concerns around tightening supply of a key raw material are expected to keep lithium prices elevated in the second half of 2021, sources said.​

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China's NEV sales reached 271,000 units in July, up 164.4% on the year and 5.8% higher from the previous month, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, or CAAM, said Aug. 11.​

NEV output also surged 170.8% on the year to 284,000 units in July, and the figure was up 14.3% on the month, according to CAAM data.​

In the first seven months of 2021, China's total NEV output and sales amounted to 1.5 million and 1.64 million units, up 195.6% and 197.1%, respectively, compared with the same period last year.​

Both monthly NEV output and sales have been seeing an increase on an annual basis for the 13th consecutive month now.​

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Robust sales

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NEV sales are expected to see a rapid growth in 2021, according to sources.​

China's NEV sales are set to reach 2.4 million units in 2021, up 76% from a year earlier, CAAM said in July. Some sources have an even more bullish outlook and expect sales to reach as high as 2.8 million units in the year.​

Accelerated NEV sales are also expected to lend strong support to Chinese metals demand, such as aluminum, copper and battery metals, sources said.​

Robust sales

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NEV sales are expected to see a rapid growth in 2021, according to sources.​

China's NEV sales are set to reach 2.4 million units in 2021, up 76% from a year earlier, CAAM said in July. Some sources have an even more bullish outlook and expect sales to reach as high as 2.8 million units in the year.​

Accelerated NEV sales are also expected to lend strong support to Chinese metals demand, such as aluminum, copper and battery metals, sources said.​

Supply scare

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Meanwhile, lithium chemicals output could fall in the near term due to supply tightness of spodumene and power shortages, according to sources.​

An uptick in demand amid tightening supply has continued to drive prices higher across the lithium chain.​

S&P Global Platts assessed battery-grade lithium carbonate at Yuan 100,000/mt ($15,418/mt) and lithium hydroxide at Yuan 110,000/mt on Aug. 10, up Yuan 500/mt and Yuan 7,000/mt, respectively, from Aug. 6 levels. Both assessments were on a DDP China basis.​

Small buyers that generally buy spot cargoes are facing price increases, said an eastern China-based lithium chemicals producer Aug. 11.​

Several producers are sold out of August-delivery cargoes, leaving spot buyers scrambling for alternatives amid an expected downstream battery production ramp-up through September.​

Meanwhile, China's output of power battery -- the major consumer for battery metals -- hit 17.4 GWh in July, up 14.2% on the month and 185.3% from a year earlier, according to separate data released by the China Automobile Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance.​

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