By 
Shares of Chinese lithium suppliers jumped on Thursday, as prices of the battery-making commodity continued to rally on supply tightness and a booming electric-car market.
Tianqi Lithium Corp.
002466,
+10.00%
soared 10% in Shenzhen to hit its daily fluctuation limit, while Ganfeng Lithium Co.
002460,
+8.40%
1772,
+7.00%
rose 7.8% by mid-day trading break. Chengxin Lithium Group Co.
002240,
+7.93%
and Sinomine Resource Group Co.
002738,
+10.00%
were by 7.9% and 10% respectively.
The upturn extended a recent rally in the lithium sector amid an upbeat price outlook for the metal.
Investment bank Citi has recently substantially raised its price forecast for lithium, doubling its estimate for spot battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China this year. Its optimism is supported by “higher electric vehicle production and sales expectations, and resulting tighter short-medium term market balances,” the bank wrote in a recent note.
Appetite for lithium shows no signs of slowing. In one recent deal underscoring demand strength, Tesla Inc.
TSLA,
+0.10%
on Wednesday inked a five-year agreement to buy lithium products from Australian miner Liontown Resources Ltd.
LTR,
-3.51%.
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