China has opened a new global metals exchange in Guangzhou, which has begun trading lithium futures contracts.

In just the first month, trading on the Guangzhou exchange passed established exchanges in London, Chicago, and Singapore.

This is yet another effort by China to reduce exposure to trading in the US dollar. For China it is particularly urgent, and much simpler as well, to do so in the markets where China is the dominant buyer, and the top producer.

The lithium exchange will be a forerunner for other industrial metals over coming months, as China de-risks from Western banks and currency exchange regimes.

Resources and links:

China pushes to dominate trading in clean energy metals
https://www.ft.com/content/dcec0b54-d...

London Metal Exchange is grabbed by Chinese at £1.4bn
https://www.standard.co.uk/business/b...

Chinese buy London Metal Exchange in £1.4bn takeover
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/bu...

CME Group, Rules overview for failures of delivery in commodities contracts
https://www.cmegroup.com/articles/202...