Industry observation: Seasonal trend changes in lithium market

In a statement Monday, Galaxy Resources Ltd. said lithium battery prices and demand for lithium-ion battery products, including electric vehicles, are beginning to show seasonal trends. According to SMM data, as of April 23, the price of lithium carbonate in 2018 has dropped by 12.5 <UNK>, and lithium hydroxide has fallen by 0.7 <UNK>.

The market for lithium chemicals is still very tight, which will continue to support strong price prospects, with the price of lithium carbonate up 13.4 per cent from a year ago.

The average global price of lithium carbonate in March was $17,513 per ton, Benchmark MineralIntellence said in a report this month. The global price of lithium hydroxide is flat at US$ 19,388 per ton; Lithium pyroxene remains unchanged at an average price of $880 per ton.

According to Galaxy, the drop in the cost of energy storage technology is increasing the prospects for battery storage, which is expected to bring significant upward momentum to lithium demand.

In the previous three months, Galaxy Resources 'sales fell from 58,094 tons in the first quarter of 2018 to 44,258 tons.

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