New study rips into cobalt, lithium price bulls
Mining.comreports thatMorgan Stanley sent shares of lithium producers and explorers tumbling at the end of February after the investment bank forecast a huge surplus in the market for the battery raw material in 2022, resulting in forecast prices nearly halving from today’s levels.The negative assessment raised eyebrows in the industry with executives criticizing Morgan Stanley for vastly underestimating the rise in demand, production ramp-up problems and bottlenecks > with processing of battery-grade lithium compounds.But this week another voice was added to the bear camp on lithium (and cobalt, where hype has reached an even higher pitch).
Prominent commodities research house Wood Mackenzie this week released a report on battery materials that forecasts a decline in the price of cobalt and lithium this year which would turn into a rout from 2019 onwards.