China’s CATL, the world’s biggest maker of EV batteries, is considering whether to mothball a key lepidolite mine in the south-eastern Jiangxi province, as well as one of its three lithium carbonate production lines, according to a research report published on Wednesday by Citi. Falling lithium prices have affected the cost-benefit equation of producing lithium […]
Battery Metals
Iron ore price flicks higher from lowest close in nearly two years
Iron ore rose from its lowest close since November 2022, as bearish investors took pause after a sharp slump for the steelmaking material. The flick higher on Friday ends five days of losses amid torrid conditions in China’s steel market, where prices for key products like rebar and hot-rolled coil continue to soften. Iron ore […]
Chile’s top court rejects Tianqi appeal to halt SQM-Codelco deal
Chile’s Supreme Court rejected Chinese firm Tianqi’s appeal to halt a lithium deal between SQM and state-run Codelco, local newspaper La Tercera reported on Wednesday. Tianqi has argued that the agreement should have been approved by SQM shareholders. CMF, Chile’s financial regulator, ruled that no such approval is required. The Chinese company, which owns about […]
Goldman cuts copper price forecast by $5,000 as bullish bet closed
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. exited a long-term bullish position on copper and slashed its price forecast for 2025 by almost $5,000, citing shrinking demand in China. The bank has been one of the biggest cheerleaders of the industrial metal, but the increasingly disappointing economic recovery in China will delay an expected rally, analysts including Samantha […]
U.S. Battery Storage Is Booming
Battery storage installations are soaring in the United States thanks to incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which offers, for the first time, tax credits for standalone storage capacity. Total costs of batteries and storage systems have also dropped significantly over the past decade to incentivize more installations across America. In addition, collocating battery […]
Lotte in copper foil deal with Stellantis battery JV
South Korea’s Lotte Energy Materials Corporation (LEMC) has signed a deal to become the exclusive supplier of copper foil for StarPlus Energy LLC‘s first electric vehicle (EV) battery plant currently under construction in the US state of Indiana, according to local reports. Starplus Energy, the battery manufacturing joint venture between global automaker Stellantis and South […]
Will gold’s tailwinds be enough to overcome September curse?
Gold investors returning from their summer holidays will be eager to see whether the precious metal can sustain its record-breaking rally, or if it will succumb to the curse of September. Bullion has dropped every September since 2017. Over that period, the average decline has been 3.2% in September – easily the worst month of […]
Gold price softens on US inflation data, still up 3% for the month
Gold softened on Friday after the latest set of US inflation data matched expectations, but still kept above the $2,500 level with a September interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve likely around the corner. Spot gold was down 0.6% at $2,506.59 per ounce as of 11:20 a.m. ET, while US gold futures fell 0.9% […]
EU new car sales flat in July as battery-electric slumps, industry body ACEA says
New car sales in the European Union rose 0.2% in July, slowed by declines in France and Germany, while battery-electric vehicles continued to lose market share, data from Europe’s auto industry body showed on Thursday. Improvements in the Belgian, Dutch and French electric-vehicle (EV) markets failed to offset a drop of almost 37% in Germany’s […]
Gold price retreats as traders await more US data
Gold slid nearly 1% on Wednesday but remains above the key $2,500 level as traders await more clues later this week on the Federal Reserve’s rate cut path. Spot gold was down 0.9% at $2,501.87 per ounce by 1:10 p.m. ET, about $30 off its record high set last week. US gold futures fell 0.7% […]
