As Sissy Bellama reports for Il Sole24Ore, lithium no longer glows like it used to. The prices of the so-calledwhite gold”, would decline due to excess production accompanied by a (albeit relative) slowdown in demand. The article reports that lithium carbonate, in particular, is trading below $13,000 per ton, while lithium hydroxide is nearing $12,000: levels they haven’t fallen to since July 2021, almost three years ago.
According to many analysts, falling prices will continue, at least in the second half of this year, if not longer. Among the reasons for the collapse would also be growing pessimism about the pace of the decarbonization process and, in particular, about the spread of electric cars, which disappoints the bombastic predictions that circulated until recently. According to Bellam too Tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles recently imposed by both the US and the EU will put pressure on the market.