S&P GLOBAL Market Intelligence latest report on lithium and cobalt paints a revealing picture for the rare earths’ market.
Though the fall-out from COVID-19 has seen total sales and growth of EV’s slow in China, S&P are predicting an increase in sales in Europe due to stricter vehicle emissions standards pushing drivers toward electric vehicles.
European and Chinese government policies favour of EV’s driving down battery costs.
European car-makers including Volkswagen and BMW have made investments in the EV market which should bear fruit over the course of 2020 as EU transitions toward carbon neutrality.
The EV sales should lead to an increase in the Lithium Carbonate price which has so far decline 9.5% this year, averaging US$8,121 p/t in 2020.
The cobalt price is expected to balance out in 2020 with a supply reduction offset by the coronvirus effect.
The price of lithium currently sits at $7.5US per kg. The Australian Government Office of Chief Economist’s report Resources and Energy Quarterly (December edition), states that although the market may remain in oversupply in the near-term, demand will outpace supply after 2020 due to an increased uptake in electric vehicles across the globe, coming under “significant pressure” from 2022.
