The new copper foil production capacity has not come out, and the supply pattern of lithium battery copper foil and conventional electrolytic copper foil is stable. The market tension is expected to continue into 2018 or even longer. The new energy industry revealed two news of the 2017 subsidy adjustment plan and power battery specifications. The subsidy standards for different models have declined. The power battery is adjusted to subsidize the energy density level of lithium iron phosphate batteries. If the news is true, new Energy vehicles and lithium electric power batteries are affected by the reduction of subsidies, and the production capacity planning of production enterprises has changed from the “Great Leap Forward” starting this year to reduced production. The market leverage will regulate that some copper foil factories will return to doing conventional electrolytic copper foil, but not all companies can achieve the free switch between conventional copper foil and lithium copper foil. There are considerable barriers, including capital, technology, and equipment. Within the foreseeable period, the demand for lithium copper foil will be stable or slightly decrease.
The fourth quarter is the peak season of PCB tradition. Special consumer electronics, communications, and automotive medium-to-high-layer PCBs have grown significantly. CCL enterprise orders have continued to be popular. In October, large-scale copper-clad laminate companies began to implement limit orders. The previous orders for lithium-electric copper foil and electronic copper foil are better than market expectations. Many of the orders paid by CCL companies for advance payment to various copper foil factories are scheduled to March 2017. In the short term, copper foil orders are sufficient, and demand is solid or even higher than expected. Growth, processing fees will continue to rise in December, is expected to fluctuate around 60,000 yuan / ton will remain for some time. If the price of raw copper fluctuates greatly and market demand breaks through, then copper prices may reach new highs in the short term. In the long run, on the one hand, the international raw copper price is stimulated by the US Trump infrastructure investment promotion policy, and the price of heavy metals is upward; on the other hand, after March 2017, the market may reach a demand season. And copper price fluctuations.
