Afternoon trading May 11

Thanks @shovel40, @FlashPoint, @Fiji1 and morning crew.

Lithium miners ran hot this morning as Allkem's US merger deal fuelled gains. AKE jumped 17.12%, LKE 12.75%, GLN 17.96%, PLS 4.62% and CXO 5.88%. Bit of short-covering going on, I'd imagine.

The wider market struggled for a third session as iron ore prices declined 2.4% in China and Westpac traded without its dividend. The ASX 200 slipped 0.33%.

Weak Chinese inflation figures this morning fuelled questions about demand prospects from Australia's biggest trading partner. While the rest of the world struggles with soaring prices, China faces wholesale price deflation unless consumer demand improves. Crazy world.

Personal trading: Struggled for ideas this morning. Took PLS at the open, but didn't get much out of it before it rolled over. Shoulda gone for LKE. Looked at BEZ too long without committing. Got something from AHF but needed two buys for a profit.