International derivatives marketplace CME Group today announced that it will expand its battery metals suite and launch a Spodumene CIF China (Fastmarkets) Futures contract on October 28, 2024, pending regulatory review.

“Our suite of cobalt and lithium products serve an important role in the rapidly evolving battery metals space, with industry adoption accelerating,” said Jin Hennig, Global Head of Metals at CME Group. “With this launch of Spodumene futures, we will expand hedging capabilities, making it easier for the market to manage the price differences across products in the lithium value chain.”

“The spodumene futures contract launch with the CME Group marks a significant step forward for the lithium market,” said Raju Daswani, Chief Executive Officer at Fastmarkets. “With this contract, the industry gains a tool to manage price risk associated with the spodumene price, conversion margins, as well as take a view on the lithium conversion spread itself. We believe this will positively contribute to the liquidity across the entire battery raw materials futures complex,” he added.

CME Group is the leading marketplace for managing battery metals risk. Open interest in Lithium Hydroxide futures surpassed 30,000 contracts for the first time this year and now extends through 2026. Open interest in Cobalt Metal futures also remains robust and extends through 2028, providing essential price transparency further along the curve.

Spodumene CIF China (Fastmarkets) futures will be financially-settled and will be listed by and subject to the rules of COMEX. Fastmarkets is one of the most trusted cross-commodity price reporting agencies (PRA) in the agriculture, forest products, metals and mining, and new generation energy markets.