Lithium prices spike 9% in China on tax-rebate shift, pushing SQM stock up before the bell
Lithium prices in China jumped to a two-year high after Beijing cut export VAT rebates on batteries, sending the main futures contract up 9% to 156,060 yuan per ton. SQM rose 0.5% in U.S. premarket trading, while Albemarle gained and Lithium Americas fell. Chinese battery makers dropped, but upstream lithium producers advanced. SQM finalized a framework deal with Codelco, pending a Supreme Court ruling.