The gallium market has continued to experience pressure due to increased demand from LED manufacturers since the beginning of 2011. Some producers have seen demand for LED applications double since the same time last year. Many are speculating that increased demand for CIGS photovoltaic cells, following concerns about nuclear energy arising from the situation in Japan, will push gallium prices well above $1000/kg by the mid-point of 2011. There may still be room for gallium to go higher, however, many producers in China already have plans in place to significantly expand production capacity by the start of 2012. According to some calculations, if all the new capacity is completed on time, Chinese gallium production could double to over 100MT in 2012. Even if new production is just half of this, it will help to bring stability back to the market. SMI Ltd. expects gallium prices to peak in the third quarter of 2011.
Chart courtesy: www.metal-pages.com
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