David Fickling, Columnist

The Lithium Cartel Is Self-Destructing

China’s incentive to keep the electric-battery metal cheap has soured investors on Ganfeng’s Hong Kong IPO.

October 10, 2018 at 5:36 AM UTC

Corrected

October 10, 2018 at 11:29 AM UTC

David Fickling is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering climate change and energy. Previously, he worked for Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

This cartel wants to keep prices down, not up.
Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg

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What ever happened to the lithium boom?

The electric-battery metal is trading at its lowest levels in two years. After doubling in 2016 and rising another third last year, lithium carbonate swap prices for Asia are down 30 percent so far this year, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.