Global cathode and precursor short-term outlook October 2023

October presented a mixed picture of the market. EV sales year-to-date reached 9.7 million units. Since August, plug-in sales have increased 4.8%, registering 1.3 million units. Global cathode consumption increased by 4% and is keeping in line with the trend. Pricing outlook is poor. The rapid expansion of refining capacity in the battery raw material markets has created a significant oversupply. This surplus has driven raw material prices down. Nickel, cobalt and manganese chemicals are within 10% of their all-time lows. Conversely, lower prices make manufacturing less economically attractive and may contribute further to the cathode supply deficit. Chinese production remains stable as producers lower utilisation rates of their assets to meet demand. New Chinese capacity is added to our base case, indicating there may still be enough profit to provide a return. The full report in PDF form and underlying data can be downloaded from the 'Report Downloads Section’.