The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price has tumbled over the past month.

Core Lithium shares have descended nearly 26% since market close on 2 December and are currently fetching $1.02. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) has shed 4% in the last month.

So what has been going on with the Core Lithium lately?

What's impacted Core Lithium in December?

Core Lithium is not the only ASX lithium share that has fallen in the last month. Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) shares have slid 26% in a month, while Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) shares have lost 19%.

Core Lithium shares plunged nearly 30% between market close on 2 December and 28 December before finishing the year on a high.

A bearish note out of Goldman Sachs may have weighed on the company's shares in early December. The broker put a sell rating on Core Lithium with a $1 price target. The commodity team at Goldman predicted lithium prices would start to fall in the second half of 2023. Analysts said:

Our commodity team now expect lithium prices through 1H23 to reflect the near-term tightness and lagging spodumene contract price pass-through before declining over 2H23.

Electric vehicle demand concerns, the performance of US lithium shares, and the lithium price also weighed on ASX lithium shares in December.

The lithium carbonate price descended 15.6% from CNY 562,500 on 1 December to CNY 474,500 on 30 December.

On the US market, Livent Corp (NYSE: LTHM) shares have shed 24% in the last month, while Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (NYSE: SQM) shares have lost 16%.

In positive news for Core Lithium in December, the team at Macquarie lifted its outlook on the Core Lithium share price to outperform with a $1.30 price target on the share price. This implies a 28% upside based on the current share price.

Macquarie is optimistic about the company's ability to generate bumper free cash flow in the 2024 and 2025 financial years.

Core Lithium loaded the first shipment of 1.4% lithium oxide direct shipping ore from the Finniss mine on December 30. The ship containing 15,000 dmt of lithium oxide is bound for China from Darwin. Core Lithium shares soared nearly 6% on this day.

Commenting on this news, CEO Gareth Manderson said:

Core has made good progress during 2022 to transition from a mine developer to lithium producer. In 2023 we will continue this transition and the work required to build a quality operating business."

Core Lithium share price snapshot

The Core Lithium share price has soared 73% in the past 52 weeks.

Core Lithium has a market capitalisation of nearly $1.9 billion based on the current share price.

The post Why has the Core Lithium share price fallen 26% in a month? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

ASX lithium shares are falling harder than the benchmark index and materials sector today.

Lithium shares trading lower this afternoon include:

• Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL), down 2.87%
• Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO), down 0.76%
• Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA), down 1.09%
• Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS), down 0.33%
• Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR), down 2.96%
• Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE), down 2.5%
• Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE), down 1.14%

For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is 0.08% in the red.

What's happening?

ASX lithium shares are broadly underperforming the materials index today. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is down 0.19% at the time of writing.

On US markets, multiple lithium giants fell overnight. The Livent Corp (NYSE: LTHM) share price tumbled 6.18%, while Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (NYSE: SQM) shares fell 4.72%. The Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) share price also shed 6.7%.

Speculation on lithium demand from China could be impacting sentiment in the lithium sector.

News emerged that Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) could cut electric vehicle (EV) output from its Shanghai plant by more than 20% in December, Bloomberg reported.

But late on Monday in the US, a Tesla spokesperson described the report as "false news", Reuters reported.

Last week, the South China Morning Post reported EV battery production will exceed domestic electric car makers' demand threefold by 2025. EV battery makers are set to lift capacity by six times between this year and 2025, according to the report.

ASX lithium shares that have signed lithium supply agreements with Tesla include Liontown Resources and Piedmont Lithium (the latter of which is not in the ASX 200 but is a constituent of the All Ords).

Core Lithium negotiated with Tesla on an offtake agreement earlier this year. However, the date for concluding the term sheet passed in late October without any final agreement. Core Lithium CEO Gareth Manderson said at the time:

I want to thank Tesla for the time taken to negotiate with Core and look forward to maintaining an open and ongoing dialogue.

The post Why are ASX 200 lithium shares taking a lashing today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price had a rough day today, finishing nearly 5% in the red.

Sayona Mining shares dropped 4.76% to close at 20 cents. For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Resources Index (ASX: XJR) descended 1.14% today.

Let's take a look at what may have weighed on the Sayona Mining share price today.

The big picture

Sayona shares fell today, but they were not alone among ASX lithium shares. For example, the Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) share price plummeted 7.5% today, while Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares fell 3.37%. Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) shares lost 4.14% today.

ASX lithium shares followed in the footsteps of their US counterparts on Friday. Shares in lithium giant Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) dropped 3.91%, while Livent Corp (NYSE: LTHM) shares sank 8.81% on the New York Stock Exchange.

Lithium shares may be struggling amid concern that demand for the battery-making material in China could fall, potentially impacting the global lithium price. Protests over COVID-19 lockdowns broke out in that country on the weekend.

The electric vehicle (EV) battery industry in China may have an oversupply of EV batteries by 2025, according to a report in the South China Post on Sunday. The article stated EV battery makers in mainland China were forecast to exceed electric car maker demand in China threefold in 2025.

The lithium carbonate price in China dropped 0.53% to 562,500 yuan on Friday. This followed a 1.74% drop in the lithium carbonate price last Thursday.

What's happened with Sayona Mining recently?

Meanwhile, Sayona recently highlighted that its North American Lithium (NAL) operation restart was gaining momentum. Procurement is 98% complete, and construction is ramping up. Sayona advised the operation was on track to produce lithium by the first quarter of 2023.

Commenting on the news, Sayona managing director Brett Lynch said:

NAL is progressing rapidly towards next year's restart, and our recent move to expand NAL's potential resource and mine production capacity will only further enhance its long‐term productivity.

Sayona share price snapshot

The Sayona Mining share price has soared 42.8% in the past 12 months and 53.8% year to date.

For perspective, the Resources Index has jumped nearly 20% in the past year.

Sayona has a market capitalisation of $1.7 billion based on the current share price.

The post Why did the Sayona Mining share price have a tough run today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Global X Battery Tech & Lithium ETF (ASX: ACDC) closed the session on Thursday up 1.24% to $88.28.

But over 2022 so far, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) is down 8.65%, which might seem surprising given this year is turning out to be another ripper for ASX lithium shares.

Let's look at some examples among the rip-snorters of this particular ASX mining segment.

• The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is up 119% year to date (YTD)
• The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price is up 86% YTD
• The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is up 45% YTD
• The IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price is up 37% YTD
• The Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) share price is up 29% YTD.

Why is the ACDC ETF in the red in 2022?

The first thing to understand is that the Global X Battery Tech & Lithium ETF is not a pure-play lithium ETF.

It's got some ASX lithium shares in there, but it also invests in global companies. And not just those in lithium mining either. It holds battery technology companies, electric vehicle (EV) companies like Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), and car manufacturers that are also building EVs, like Renault SA (FRA: RNL).

The provider, Global X ETFs Australia, puts it this way:

ACDC invests in companies throughout the lithium cycle, including mining, refinement and battery production, cutting across traditional sector and geographic definitions.

So, your shares in ACDC are going to be affected by many factors other than the record lithium price. That's the main thing that's been pushing up the value of ASX lithium shares over the past two years.

So, this is one reason why the ACDC ETF isn't going gangbusters like so many ASX lithium shares.

Why invest in the ACDC ETF?

The ACDC ETF is popular with ASX investors who want to capitalise on the global investing thematic of energy transition but don't want to pick individual stocks to invest in. Problem is, when you purchase a basket of international and ASX shares, you've got to accept the good with the bad.

As with any shares portfolio, you'll have winners and losers every year. The losers aren't necessarily bad companies, but every company has good and bad years, and that will be reflected in their share prices.

This is especially the case with young companies in their initial growth phase. Remember, global demand for lithium on the back of demand for electric vehicles is a pretty recent phenomenon. Just 10 years ago, Tesla was a small cap. Only five years ago, it was a US$20 stock (today it's 11 times that price).

However, if you believe the lithium and battery thematic will be ongoing, then the Global X Battery Tech & Lithium ETF may be a good place to be. Especially if you don't like seeing large share price fluctuations. By nature, a basket of shares is not going to react as strongly to the individual news of its 31 shares.

The ACDC ETF has a 52-week high price of $99.25 and a 52-week low price of $74.72. So, right now, it's trading in the middle of that range.

Which ASX lithium shares does the ACDC ETF hold?

According to provider, Global X ETFs Australia, the top six holdings are as follows. As you'll note, only three are listed on the ASX. These are also the only ASX lithium shares the ACDC ETF holds.

1. Pilbara Minerals with a weighting of 6.83%
2. Renault with a weighting of 5.19%
3. Minerals Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) with a weighting of 4.94%
4. LG Energy Solution Ltd (KRX: 373220) with a weighting of 4.61%
5. Livent Corp (NYSE: LTHM) with a weighting of 4.48%
6. Allkem with a weighting of 4.44%.

The post If ASX lithium shares are soaring, why is the ACDC ETF down 9% in 2022? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

ASX lithium shares are in the green today.

Lithium companies surging include Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) and Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO). Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA), Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE), and Global Lithium Resources Ltd (ASX: GL1) are also up.

Let's look at what's going on with ASX lithium shares on Monday.

What's going on?

Piedmont shares are soaring 16.14%, while Core Lithium shares are up 10.2%. The Sayona Mining share price is climbing 3.64%, while Allkem and Global Lithium are 3.19% and 2.39% higher, respectively.

News that the USA's "historic climate bill" has passed United States Congress may be helping lithium shares today. President Joe Biden will sign the bill this week, the ABC reports.

Lithium is a critical component in electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

As my Foolish colleague Bernd reported last week, this bill includes US$347 billion in climate and energy spending. The bill renews the US$7,500 tax credits for new EVs and lifts the cap of 200,000 cars per manufacturer. The bill stipulates the "critical minerals" for the EV batteries must be sourced in the US or a country with a free trade agreement with the US. Australia signed a free trade agreement with the US in 2005.

Piedmont Lithium could be especially well placed to benefit from this bill, given it is headquartered in North Carolina. Piedmont touts itself as a "leading, diversified developer of lithium resources critical to the US electric vehicle supply chain".

Piedmont's listing on the NASDAQ lifted nearly 19% on Friday. Lithium Americas Corp (NYSE: LAC) shares rose 6.21%, while Livent Corp (NYSE: LTHM) jumped 5.96%.

Meanwhile, Core Lithium's share price is lifting today amid an exploration update. The company reported findings at the Anningie-Barrow Creek (ABC) Project as a "lookalike to the company's high-grade discoveries at the Finniss Lithium Project". Further, Core Lithium announced receiving two grants from the Northern Territory Government.

The post Why are ASX lithium shares having such a cracking start to the week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

However, as positive as this is, this gain pales in comparison to one area of the market – the lithium industry.

Lithium stocks race higher

In afternoon trade, a number of ASX lithium stocks are on course to record very strong gains. Here's a summary of how they are performing:

• The Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE) share price is up 5%.
• The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price is up 7%.
• The Lake Resources N.L. (ASX: LKE) share price is up 6%.
• The LionTown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR) share price is up 7%.
• The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price is up 6.5%.
• The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price is up 11%.
• The Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) share price is up 5%.

Why are they rising?

Today's gain appears to have been driven by the release of an impressive result from lithium giant Livent overnight.

The NYSE-listed lithium miner saw its shares hurtle 30% higher after reporting a 17% increase in revenue to US$143.5 million and a 94% quarter on quarter jump in EBITDA to $53.2 million. This was well-ahead of the market's expectations.

In addition, Livent's CEO, Paul Graves, spoke very positively about current trading conditions, which seems to have given investor sentiment a big boost.

He commented:

Strong lithium demand growth has continued in 2022.  Published lithium prices in all forms have increased rapidly amid very tight market conditions and Livent continues to achieve higher realized prices across its entire product portfolio.

In light of this positive outlook, Livent has upgraded its full year revenue guidance by over US$200 million and its EBITDA guidance by over US$130 million.

It now expects revenue of US$755 million to US$835 million and EBITDA of US$290 million to US$350 million. The midpoint of this guidance implies year on year growth of 89% and 360%, respectively.

It certainly is a boom time for lithium stocks.

The post Here's why ASX lithium stocks are rocketing higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.