Singapore Exchange Eyes Battery Metals Contracts to Tap EV Boom

(Bloomberg) -- The Singapore Exchange is eyeing introducing contracts for battery metals amid a surge in demand for raw materials crucial to power electric vehicles.

EV metals contracts were “definitely something that we are looking at” as the bourse continues to assesses the market, according to Cheong Jin Yu, director of commodities at the SGX, without providing details on any timetable or specific materials.

“We hear requests from investors about that every day,” Cheong said in an interview. “But we also have to consider the role we can play in the context of what battery metals contracts are available in the market, where we sit and what we can bring to the table.”

Green stimulus measures worldwide have been accelerating the adoption of EVs, leading to booming demand for raw materials including lithium, cobalt, copper and nickel. Commodities key to the clean-energy transition also are getting an added boost from the global recovery in industry.

Lithium prices have rebounded after a three-year slump and copper has rallied to a record high. The London Metal Exchange has delayed the start date for cash-settled futures for lithium hydroxide to July, while trading volume on cobalt remains among the thinest of contracts on the bourse.

“For us, it is not about how fast we can launch the contracts, but how could we introduce contracts that would serve the market well and really make a difference,” said Cheong. “Battery metals is also a very, very diverse complex. It’s not just one metal.”

The Singapore Exchange, which is the world’s biggest clearer of iron ore derivatives, is also planning to launch steel rebar futures, while specific contract details haven’t yet been publicly announced.

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