There is a sense of cautious optimism in the mining sector following the election of Javier Milei as the new president of Argentina on Sunday November 19, Fastmarkets understands

Fastmarkets presents the key discussion topics across the battery raw materials sector ahead of Fastmarkets’ China Battery Raw Materials conference taking place in Shanghai on December 6-7

This week, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) launched option contracts on lithium hydroxide, which are cash-settled and differ from many of the CME commodity options on futures

China’s lithium prices continued to soften in the week to Thursday November 16, remaining under downward pressure from persistently weak buying appetite and bearish sentiment

China’s lithium prices extended losses in the week ended Thursday November 2, which market participants attributed to ongoing weak demand and bearish sentiment.

Chinese lithium carbonate prices drifted lower in the week ended Thursday October 26 amid ongoing bearish sentiment and limited demand, ending the uptrend in the recent fortnight, while those for Chinese lithium hydroxide remained flat amid thin trading due to muted demand

China’s electric vehicle (EVs) sector received a boost from government subsidies, with output and sales rising considerably year on year in September, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on Wednesday October 11

Plans for a major battery metals recycling hub run by Glencore and Li-Cycle in Italy are likely to go ahead despite recent pushback from local authorities, sources told Fastmarkets this week

The Indian government has established royalty rates for the mining of lithium, rare earths and niobium, it announced on Wednesday October 11

China’s spot lithium carbonate prices rebounded in the week to Thursday October 12 due to support from a surge in the lithium carbonate futures contract on Guangzhou Futures Exchange (GFEX), the first gain since the end of August, sources said