London — It’s been a tough year for electric vehicle (EV) metal bulls. The speculative heat surrounding any and every material that goes into an EV battery has dissipated over the course of 2019.

Two years ago the spot lithium price in China was $26/kg. Today it is assessed by Fastmarkets at below $8. Cobalt, a key input for lithium-ion battery chemistry, has experienced a similar boom and bust cycle, the price of standard grade metal sliding from over $44 per pound in the second quarter of 2018 to a current $15.75...

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