Battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices in China diverged over the week ended Thursday May 20, with the latter underpinned by persistent tight availability and robust demand in Asia.

The United States plans to “make up for lost time” in the battle against climate change by developing new technologies and investing in the products that will drive the transition to a global, low-carbon economy, according to the country’s Treasury chief, Janet Yellen.

Lithium prices in the seaborne Asian market continued their strong upward trajectory over the week to Thursday May 13 while the equivalent domestic market in China calmed from the strong momentum in the first quarter of 2021, sources said.

The battery-grade seaborne Asian lithium carbonate market continued to post gains over the week on Thursday May 6 amid tight spot availability.

The demand for nickel and cobalt as battery materials for electric vehicles (EV) will keep their long-term bullish fundamentals intact, according to Canadian miner Sherritt International.

The lithium hydroxide price in China was firm over the week to Thursday April 22 amid tight availability, while the carbonate price softened due to the restart and ramp-up of operations in Qinghai province.

Nickel briquette has steadily become a more favored choice of feedstock for Chinese battery-grade nickel sulfate producers in recent months, resulting in a notable pick-up in spot trading activity for the former.

Fastmarkets has partnered with the CME Group to launch a cash-settled lithium futures contract that will be settled against Fastmarkets’ assessment for lithium hydroxide battery grade, spot price cif China, Japan & Korea, the exchange announced on Thursday April 8.

Fastmarkets today, Thursday April 1, launches two new reference prices: nickel sulfate, cif China, Japan and Korea, $ per tonne; and nickel sulfate premium, cif China, Japan and Korea, $ per tonne.

The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange was up by 1% during morning trading on Tuesday March 23, while aluminium fell to $2,227.50 per tonne, with a combination of macroeconomic factors and fundamentals issues resulting in mixed price movements.