Business · Markets · 1 hr ago
ASX falls as China lithium supply news weighs on miners and oil prices rise
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.3% at lunchtime on Tuesday in Sydney.
Investors were cautious after a shaky session on Wall Street, where technology shares fell amid concern about high valuations.
Oil prices rose, with Brent crude heading towards US$107 a barrel as Saudi Arabia faced drone and missile attacks.
Energy and utilities shares helped limit the market’s fall, but lithium miners dropped.
Lithium prices fell 6% overnight after China’s Jiangxi Special Electric Motor received safety approval for a major lithium deposit.
The approval raised the prospect of more supply, putting pressure on miners PLS Group and Mineral Resources, whose shares each fell about 4%.
The update adds to doubts about when lithium prices and miners might recover; no further steps were specified.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% by lunchtime in Sydney on Tuesday.
Lithium miners dropped after lithium prices fell 6% overnight.
China’s Jiangxi Special Electric Motor secured safety approval for a major lithium deposit, adding to concerns about future supply.
PLS Group and Mineral Resources each fell around 4%.
Brent crude was heading towards US$107 a barrel as energy stocks helped support the wider market.
- Who
- Australian investors and lithium miners, including PLS Group and Mineral Resources.
- What
- The S&P/ASX 200 fell as lithium prices and miners dropped, while oil prices rose.
- When
- Tuesday, by lunchtime in Sydney; the article was published on 13 October 2026.
- Where
- The Australian Securities Exchange; the lithium supply news concerned China.
- Why
- China’s Jiangxi Special Electric Motor secured safety approval for a major lithium deposit, raising concerns about additional supply. Oil prices rose amid attacks on Saudi Arabia and uncertainty over an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Lithium prices fell 6% after China’s Jiangxi Special Electric Motor secured safety approval for a major lithium deposit.
The S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.3%, while PLS Group and Mineral Resources had each fallen around 4%.
- ASX 200
- Down 0.3% at lunchtime in Sydney
- Lithium prices
- Fell 6% overnight
- China project
- Jiangxi Special Electric Motor secured safety approval for a major lithium deposit
- PLS Group
- Down around 4%
- Mineral Resources
- Down around 4%
- Brent crude
- Heading towards US$107 a barrel
What people are saying
his country would keep hitting Russian energy facilities as long as Moscow kept doing the same
Sources
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