Downstream appetites from lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) battery manufacturers weakened in the second quarter during the traditionally weak consumption season for consumer electronics - a key consumer of LCO batteries and an industry battling with a shortage of semi-conductor chips, sources said.
Some cobalt-tetroxide producers told Fastmarkets their customers have cut orders and that demand for LCO cathode materials might fall by around 30-40% during the usual second-quarter consumption lull, compared with other periods of the year.On March 17, electronics manufacturing giant Samsung warned of a "serious imbalance" in the semi-conductor industry...