Joe Lowry: Lithium Pricing Narrative, Investing in Lithium Stocks and Outlook

This year’s Lithium Supply and Battery Raw Materials conference, hosted by Fastmarkets, gathered analysts, experts and investors from across the supply chain, with record attendance of more than 1,000 participants gathering in Las Vegas.

At the show, the Investing News Network had the chance to sit down with lithium expert Joe Lowry of Global Lithium.

When asked about how lithium prices have performed so far this year, Lowry said he takes a longer-term approach.

“Most of the news narrative, what people pick up, tends to be the short term, but to me there's always been a seasonality in China,” he said. “That didn't really surprise me — what surprised me a little bit was how quickly the spot price came back.”

Lithium prices have been on the rebound since May after falling between 50 and 70 percent since November.

“There's a spectrum of prices. There is not a lithium price,” Lowry said during the conversation. “Last year, the dispersion from low to high price was over US$70 a kilo; this year I think it will be less than that.”

Lowry, who is the host of the Global Lithium Podcast, also shared his insight on how to cut through the noise when it comes to investing in lithium companies. “I think the red flags are really, if you learn how to analyze this business, you see in the prefeasibility studies there's always more optimism than is warranted. It's endemic to the industry,” he said. “You need to look at the milestones and see when the first milestone slips — then you start looking at the next one and the next one.”

Sharing his thoughts on legislation and how it has supported the sector so far, Lowry said the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has absolutely been a positive, although it's important to dig deeper.

“You have to caveat the positive because people tend to get euphoric about something that is not fully baked, as we like to say, and I think the IRA is a perfect example of that,” he added. “There hasn't been a dime in the US yet given to upstream lithium production. There's been some commitments to conversion, but you can't convert a lithium value that doesn't exist.”

Lowry also shared his perspective on what else may be ahead for lithium this year, along with lessons learned investing in this industry. Listen to the interview above to learn more of his thoughts.

You can also click here for our recap of the Fastmarkets event.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.