The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price enjoyed its first gains on Monday in five trading days.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium stock finished 0.4% higher yesterday at $1.41 per share on no fresh price-sensitive news. But that still leaves Core Lithium down 25% since last Monday's closing bell, when it closed at $1.87.
So, what's going on?
What are ASX 200 investors considering?
The Core Lithium share price has been on quite a rollercoaster over the past six trading days.
A week ago on Monday, the lithium miner gained 11.7%, only to plummet 15.8% on Tuesday. And shares finished well into the red for the remainder of the week.
Core Lithium has been riding high on the back of booming lithium demand. The battery critical metal remains near record prices as global EV production continues to ramp up.
And much of that demand comes from China, a world leader in EV manufacturing.
Which brings us back to the big surge and subsequent fall in the Core Lithium share price.
Last Monday (14 November) it looked like China was ready to significantly ease its economy crippling COVID zero policies. Any such easing of the rolling lockdowns would spell good news for China's economy along with its voracious appetite for lithium.
But just a day later, news emerged of surging COVID cases in the Middle Kingdom, dampening investor enthusiasm for Core Lithium and indeed most lithium shares as 2023 could now potentially see supplies catch up to demand.
You're unlikely to hear too much whinging from investors who bought shares last year though. Despite the big fall over the past week, the lithium miner remains up 147% over 12 months.
How has the Core Lithium share price performed longer-term?
That's a smashing 12-month gain by Core Lithium.
But as investors with a truly longer-term horizon, we like to look at the five-year returns. And over the past five years, the Core Lithium share price has rocketed an eye-popping 1,777%.
