Onshore yuan closed at 6.7218 per dollar at 16:30 local time on Sept. 1, down 20 pips from the previous session.

LG Energy Solution, one of the world’s largest Li‑ion battery makers, agreed to offtake 8,000 tonnes/year of battery‑grade lithium carbonate from Arkansas‑based Smackover Lithium under a 10‑year contract beginning in 2029, the companies said on Monday. Lithium carbonate is a key feedstock for lithium‑iron‑phosphate (LFP) batteries, whose market share is growing as lower‑cost LFP displaces nickel‑based chemistries. The agreement is Smackover Lithium’s second offtake, following a March deal with Trafigura.

San Francisco Fed data show US total factor productivity (TFP) rose 1.10% over the four quarters through Q2, down from 1.61% in Q1. Utilization‑adjusted TFP fell 0.42% over the same period, with a single‑quarter annualized decline of 2.19% in Q2. Aggregate data do not yet show an AI-driven productivity jump. Federal Reserve research says AI remains in a phase of capability improvement, capital spending and firm adoption: use is broadening but shallow, and task-level efficiency gains have not translated via process reengineering into firm- or macro-level output. Historically, general-purpose technology investment and productivity gains often materialize only after a multi-year lag.