China lithium contract jumps 8% on debut - exchange official

July 5 (Reuters) -

* China's first exchange-traded lithium contract, for delivery in October 2021, jumped 8% on its debut on the Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange on Monday, an official from the bourse said.

* The closing price for battery-grade lithium carbonate was 95 yuan ($14.71) per kg, or 95,000 yuan a tonne, on the first day of trade, up from an opening price of 88 yuan/kg, said Li Jincheng, senior product director at the exchange.

* The launch of Wuxi's contract for lithium, a key ingredient in electric-vehicle batteries, comes as resurgent demand leads major commodity exchanges in the United States and Britain to roll out their own lithium offerings.

* The volume traded on the first day in Wuxi exceeded 70 tonnes of lithium carbonate, Li added, declining to name any of the companies that participated in the trades; Wuxi lithium can be traded on a spot or forward basis.