ALTM - Lithium's Path To Recharge: KeyBanc Analyst Sees Market Rebalancing For Potential Price Surge Picks 2 Stocks To Watch | Benzinga
The near-term outlook for the lithium market appears uncertain, but as the year progresses, there is potential for price improvement, according to an analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets.
Present Tense: Data from China, the major market for lithium, a metal used in electric vehicle batteries, showed continued destocking in lithium-ion batteries in December, said analyst Aleksey Yefremov in a note on Monday. He also noted lower lithium production and imports relative to electric vehicle manufacturing.
Lithium production was nearly flat month-over-month in China in December, but lithium-ion battery cell production fell 12%, even as new-energy vehicle sales in the country rose 12% to 945,000 units, the analyst said.
In the medium term, Yefremov forecasts lithium prices trailing reinvestment economics. Lithium manufacturer Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) forecast a lower expenditure of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion for 2024, down from around $2.1 billion in 2023.
The company said this is part of a “series of proactive measures underway to re-phase its organic ...