China's Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange said on Friday trading in its new lithium contract - the country's first bourse-based offering for the key ingredient in electric-vehicle (EV) batteries - would begin on July 5.

The front-month Wuxi contract for physically delivered lithium carbonate will be October 2021, a statement from the exchange showed, putting the opening price at 88 yuan ($13.57) per kg, or 88 000 yuan per tonne.

Reuters reported plans for the contract last month.

The Wuxi exchange, located around 120 km west of Shanghai, already trades other battery metals such as nickel and cobalt on a spot and forward basis, and serves as a reference point for domestic transactions.

Its lithium contract, which will allow lithium producers and consumers to manage price exposure, arrives as major commodity exchanges in the United States and Britain launch their own lithium offerings.

CME Group Inc listed a futures contract for lithium hydroxide - a chemical favoured in nickel-rich batteries - in May, while the London Metal Exchange plans to roll out its own hydroxide futures on July 19.

There will be no contract for November delivery in Wuxi as the bourse will jump straight to the December 2021 contract, said Li Jincheng, senior product director at the Wuxi exchange.

Only four companies were named as registered producers whose lithium carbonate brands are deliverable. These included Sichuan State Lithium Materials Co Ltd and Yili New Energy - unit of Shenzhen-listed Jiangxi Special Electric Motor.

Top lithium producers Tianqi Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium were not in the list, although Li said more names would be added in future.

Spot prices for battery-grade lithium carbonate in China, as assessed by Asian Metal, are currently around 87 000 yuan per tonne, having risen more than 65% in 2021 as demand roars back following a three-year downturn.