Hyperdrive
Lithium’s 1,200% Frenzy Tempered by Blip in China’s EV Market
- Cost of battery material falls for second week from record
- Supply-demand balance is still tight, says Morgan Stanley
Lithium prices in China have about tripled over the past year.
Photographer: Carla Gottgens/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Lithium has run into a soft patch as its extraordinary two-year gain collides with signs of wariness over near-term demand from China’s electric vehicles.
The battery material’s price is set for a second weekly decline in China, while shares in lithium suppliers are falling. The culprit is the prospect of slower EV sales in coming months, which could blow back through the supply chain to raw materials. EV registrations plunged by more than a fifth in October from the prior month, data on Friday showed.