Understanding the Market | Lithium stocks fell in early trading as JIANGTE MOTOR's lithium salt plant resumed operations as scheduled. Institutions say the lithium carbonate spot market still faces inventory pressure

Lithium stocks fell in early trading. As of the time of writing, Ganfeng Lithium dropped 4.2% to HKD 31.96; Tianqi Lithium fell 4.01% to HKD 42.12. On the news front, on July 22, JIANGTE MOTOR announced that all lithium salt production lines at Yichun Yinli are expected to undergo equipment maintenance on July 25, with an estimated maintenance period of about 26 days. The purpose is to further improve the stability and operational level of the production line equipment, reduce production costs, and enhance overall efficiency. According to the latest announcement on August 19, the company has been notified by Yichun Yinli that it will officially resume production soon. Tonghui Futures released a research report stating that the lithium carbonate futures market may enter a wide-ranging strong fluctuation pattern in the next 1-2 weeks. Although supply disruption events have boosted bullish sentiment in the market, the current mine shutdowns have not yet shown an impact on actual output, and lithium salt plants maintain a high operating rate, with the spot market still facing inventory pressure. On the demand side, the sales growth rate of new energy vehicles is slowing down, coupled with the battery industry's "anti-involution" initiative suppressing the midstream expansion impulse, there are risks of correction in peak season expectations, and attention should be paid to the marginal changes in policy enforcement and the progress of mine rectification in Jiangxi