Lithium

Lithium carbonate prices in China fell to CNY 502,500 per tonne in January, the lowest since late September, as stronger supply and expectations of lower demand drove industry players to project that the lithium market will return to a surplus this year. Soaring Covid cases in China and the consequent slowdown in its economy are expected to cool the surges in electric vehicle sales ahead of the next year. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities are set to cancel new energy subsidies for battery manufacturers this month, significantly driving down demand for the key input material. On the supply side, top producer Australia expects global output of lithium carbonate equivalent production to total 915,000 tonnes next year, a 32% rise from 2022’s estimate, while foreign sales are set to triple from the prior year. Still, decarbonization goals and a wave of electric vehicle sales drove lithium prices to nearly double in 2022.

Historically, Lithium reached an all time high of 5750000 in December of 2022. Lithium - data, forecasts, historical chart - was last updated on January of 2023.

Lithium is expected to trade at 525058.65 CNY/T by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 542098.25 in 12 months time.