RE: Errawarra Tweet11 May 2024 09:15
Lithium carbonate prices were at CNY 110,500 per tonne, struggling to see a significant rebound since plunging to under CNY 100,000 earlier this year, a two-and-a-half-year low, as slowing demand for electric vehicles magnified the sharp oversupply of lithium to battery manufacturers. Sales of electric vehicles in China rose by 14.7% in the first quarter, slowing from 20.8% in 2023 and well under the triple-digit growth rates commonly seen in late 2022. The developments forced major producers to cut prices, despite a batch of incentives to consumers from Beijing, as macroeconomic headwinds in China dampen appetite for large purchases. Consequently, battery producers continued to take advantage of high inventories of input materials and finished product following the supply glut caused by extensive subsidies in 2022, and refrained from entering the market. The developments drove key market players to forecast continuous lithium surpluses in the global market up to 2027.
https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/lithium