(Yicai) Dec. 1 -- Prices of China’s lithium carbonate futures continue to drop to new record lows as prices of the main raw material to produce lithium-ion batteries have been rapidly falling this year because of oversupply issues.

LC2401, the most active lithium carbonate futures contract on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange, closed 5.8 percent down at CNY106,200 (USD14,990) per ton yesterday, a new record low since the futures started trading on July 21. LC240 plunged about 31 percent in November.

The spot price of battery-grade lithium carbonate averaged CNY131,000 per ton yesterday, down 0.8 percent from the previous day and over 70 percent from a year earlier, according to data from nonferrous metal prices website smm.cn. Lithium carbonate prices are expected to fall below CNY100,000 per ton next year because of oversupply pressures, Citic Securities said in a research note.

Another reason behind the falling lithium carbonate prices is the shrinking demand for the product due to a slowdown in the new energy vehicle industry, which is likely to continue for some time, an analyst told Yicai, adding that the financial performances of companies in the lithium industry are also expected to be affected.

Do-Fluoride New Materials predicted this year’s net profit to fall 68 percent to 71 percent to between CNY560 million and CNY620 million from last year, mainly because of a decline in lithium hexafluorophosphate prices, the Chinese manufacturer of inorganic fluoride products said in a statement on Nov. 29.

Leading Chinese supplier of lithium battery raw materials Ganfeng Lithium Group reported a 59 percent decline in third-quarter net profit to CNY6 billion (USD847 million) from a year earlier.

Chinese lithium salt lake developer Tibet Mineral Development logged a net profit of CNY113 million (USD16 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, down as much as 76 percent from the same period last year.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione