@PrinceISname Oh no… got duped into this in Paris 8yrs ago, nearly punched on with the ‘cab’ driver over the inflated fare demand.
Gave him just over fair value.
He spat chips but the prick knew he’d have to fight for anything more.
Can’t have that shit going on here. We’re better..
@yarra44 FWIW, bought my sons shares in a similar time frame.
I’m anxious on them… don’t like debt and cost per unit compared to PLS.
That said, demand forecasts look good over the next 4yrs and they have growth potential. I’d imagine many others fall before them.
@yarra44 Aside from that dip down to $5.66 with the GFEX and the n some fight back, it dipped again whilst the GFEX remained flatline.
Slight uptick in the GFEX and pls has shot back to $6.43
Feel like it’s gonna leg up again. Spewing I missed a golden re-entry point
I've been getting questions on the #lithium price pullback and market balance.. so here are some broad thoughts and analyses:
Demand:
- Iran war is massively stimulating switch to EVs. EV sales +90-160% in many countries YoY Apr 2026. Last year's headlines were doom & gloom about "slowing EV sales". In reality, BEVs+PHEVs were 20.7m units, pretty healthy. This year I forecast a re-acceleration in EV sales - lithium use +210kt LCE YoY.
- BESS growth is pretty insane. Last year installations/shipments were ~320/500GWh. This year it's looking like ~500/850GWh. FYI 850GWh --> ~600kt LCE used in those cells so this segment alone might consume 30% of lithium supply this year.
- E-Trucks: Grew 180% (!!) YoY in China last year. More broadly, the Class 4-8 segment represented 5% (86kt LCE) of lithium supply last year and it's just starting to go up the steep part of the S-curve globally. If your analyst doesn't have this in his model, he's missing 150kt LCE use this year.
- Overall, global lithium demand grows from 1.5Mt last year to 2.0Mt in 2026, a 500kt LCE jump.
Supply:
- Mine restarts: To this year's supply, Bald Hill adds 8kt LCE. Ngungajoo adds 10kt. Finniss adds 10kt. Small-ish vs the demand growth.
- Mt Holland "doubling capacity": Won't happen until 2028.
- CATL Jianxiawo mine: Even if it turned on today, it'd produce only 30kt this year. Less considering ramp-up. And there's a cow or two to relocate if recent videos are to be believed. 😉
- Supply growth has been severely constrained in the last two years as companies could not get financing, or built slower. This WILL be felt in 2026 and 2027.
Market Balance:
- I see a deficit this year growing to 2030. Much of this is based off BESS growth to 1.76TWh (+17% from my prev forecast) as countries realize they want to reduce natural gas imports dependence. I'm also pounding the table on E-Trucks here. Watch this space.
- I respect Benchmark's gutsy call for a 2027 surplus. I disagree though. They have been pretty conservative on demand forecasts and I think this year will surprise many analysts.