(Bloomberg) — Lithium prices are spiraling down toward the lowest level in two years on concerns over the strength of Chinese demand for the material, a key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries.
Prices of lithium carbonate in China fell to 166,500 yuan ($22,814) a ton last Wednesday, ahead of the Golden Week holidays, a loss of almost half from the recent peak in early June. The decline has been precipitous. Less than a year ago, the metal reached a record of 598,000 yuan a ton.
The slump has hammered lithium producers too, with the Sprott Lithium Miners ETF tumbling to the weakest since its inception in February, and Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF plunging to the lowest since 2020.
Demand for lithium typically picks up in the fourth quarter in China – the world’s largest EV market – because of strong battery cell production and installation, and manufacturers usually replenish their feedstock ahead of that.
For the rest of this article: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/slumping-lithium-prices-signal-angst-over-china-s-demand-outlook-1.1978889#:~:text=(Bloomberg)%20%2D%2D%20Lithium%20prices%20are,ingredient%20in%20electric%20vehicle%20batteries.