Lithium miners might see uptick in 2024 after destocking-trend ends

American Lithium

29/12/2023 15:26

** Lithium, a key metal used in electric vehicle (EV)
batteries, has seen prices plummet in 2023 amid weak EV sales
and a global surplus in the market, weighing on miners of the
metal
    ** U.S.-listed shares of lithium miners Albemarle  ALB.N 
falls 32.1%, Piedmont Lithium  PLL.O  down 32.2%, American
Lithium  AMLI.O  falls 45.6% YTD
    ** Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF  LIT.P  dropped 12.2%
YTD
    ** However, "as destocking ends, we expect prices will
stabilize and rise in 2024" - Morningstar analysts 
    ** Liberum analysts estimate prices of battery-grade lithium
carbonate-equivalent contracts to average around $34.3/kg in
2024, still seeing the market oversupplied by 55,000 metric tons
next year 
    ** Benchmark lithium carbonate prices to China, Japan and
South Korea were at $15.25 per kg on Friday, down 81.2% from a
peak of $81 per kg in November 2022.  MB-LI-0029 
    ** In the longer run, Morningstar analysts see prices
averaging ~$30/kg from 2023 to 2030, with lithium demand more
than tripling by 2030 from 2022 on increased EVs adoption 

  

 (Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru)
 ((Seher.Dareen@thomsonreuters.com;))