Lithium carbonate prices fell to a four-year low of CNY 60,500 per tonne in June as supply continued to outpace demand. Higher lithium output in China, Indonesia, and the DR Congo continued to pressure selling competition, with estimates from the IEA indicating that lithium supply surged 35% last year. Output is set to continue rising since miners refrain from closing operations to retain market share and business relationships with governments and battery producers.
In the meantime, sales of new energy vehicles in China slowed from the previous year in April and exports contracted, according to the China Passenger Car Association, despite ongoing government subsidies that promote vehicle exchanges and energy transition technologies. The data was in line with recent trends that China’s EV market has not grown at the pace expected following the boom at the turn of the decade, resulting in subsidies for battery producers by Beijing that triggered a surge in output and a supply glut.
