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General Market Commentary
London Metal Exchange takes aim at booming electric car market with new contracts for battery metals
The London Metal Exchange will begin offering contracts in metals used in batteries within 18 months to capture the huge opportunities created by the rise of the electric car, according to its chief.
Demand for metals including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and manganese has surged with the growth in electric vehicles, particularly in China, which has become the largest electric car market worldwide as the government aggressively pushed development to deal with serious pollution problems.
"The battery industry is a big part of metal contracts now trading, as a result of the increasing popularity of electric cars," LME chief executive Matthew Chamberlain told the annual LME Asia Week forum in Hong Kong on Thursday.
Feature China | Barcroft Images | Barcroft Media | Getty Images
A view of electric cars owned by a local car-sharing company in Wuhan, China.
The London Metal Exchange will begin offering contracts in metals used in batteries within 18 months to capture the huge opportunities created by the rise of the electric car, according to its chief.
Demand for metals including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and manganese has surged with the growth in electric vehicles, particularly in China, which has become the largest electric car market worldwide as the government aggressively pushed development to deal with serious pollution problems.
"The battery industry is a big part of metal contracts now trading, as a result of the increasing popularity of electric cars," LME chief executive Matthew Chamberlain told the annual LME Asia Week forum in Hong Kong on Thursday.
New futures contracts to be launched may include lithium, graphite and manganese, while additional contracts for the already tradeable nickel, copper, cobalt and aluminium will be explored, he said.
Chamberlain also said that alongside the battery sector, other new products in the pipeline included gold and silver options.
"The LME will introduce a new platform by the end of this year to make it quicker and easier to launch new products. The range of new products should be launched over the next 18 months," he said.
The LME is the world's largest metals exchange and is owned by Hong Kong stock market operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX). Some 900 people attended the annual conference, including representatives of electric vehicle makers.