Singapore Exchange to launch four battery materials contracts in H1 2022

BEIJING (Reuters) - Singapore Exchange (SGX) is planning to launch four derivative contracts for battery raw materials in partnership with price reporting agency Fastmarkets as a pricing benchmark and risk management tool amid an expanding global electric vehicle market.

The contracts - cobalt metal, cobalt hydroxide, lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide - are expected to be launched in the first half of 2022, said the exchange in a statement without specifying dates.

SGX's announcement comes after major commodity exchanges launched futures contracts in response to strong market demand for metals used in electric vehicle batteries.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) and CME Group Inc in the United States both launched a futures contract for lithium hydroxide - a chemical favoured in nickel-rich batteries - last year.

Both the exchanges also have case-settled cobalt futures.

In China, the world's biggest electric vehicle market, the Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange launched a yuan-denominated, exchange-traded contract for battery-grade lithium carbonate in July last year.

(Reporting by Emily Chow; editing by David Evans)