Trading of CME Group Inc.’s nearly three-year-old lithium hydroxide futures contract is gaining momentum as prices of the battery metal fluctuate. The number of outstanding contracts hit a record high of 24,328 in the first quarter, and open interest extends to September 2025 — an indication of more liquidity for the nascent contract. The number of futures changing hands in the quarter was close to the trading volume for all of last year. CME, one of the world’s largest commodity exchanges, introduced its contract for lithium hydroxide — a chemical form of the battery metal — in May 2021.