IMF Sees Further Upside Room for Prices of Nickel, Cobalt, Lithium, Copper and Other Metals Necessary for Electric Vehicle Batteries, Echoing Forecasts by the IEA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently warned in a latest report that as the Russia-Ukraine conflict has pushed up global metal prices, the prices of nickel, cobalt, lithium, copper and other metals necessary for electric vehicle batteries are expected to rise further. It is reported that IMF experts referred to the International Energy Agency's previous forecast that by 2030, the demand for copper will increase by 1.5 times, the demand for nickel and cobalt will increase by 1 times, and the demand for lithium will increase by 6 times, and use this as a background to discuss possible scenarios for the global metals landscape. In the report, the IMF pointed out the problem of geographical dependence of special metals. It said that because the mineral deposits of special metals are concentrated in a few countries in specific regions, Congo, for example, controls two-thirds of the global cobalt supply. This has resulted in globalized production relying on fragile supply chains, exacerbating the risk of resource shortages.