Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) shares were duking it out with some of the best-performing S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) mining stocks today. The Pilbara Minerals share price was lighting up the boards with a green gain of 2.2% by Friday's close.
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What's pushed the Pilbara Minerals' share price higher?
Despite the performance, there are no announcements from the company today. However, it appears the resource sector more broadly is enjoying a day of strong performance.
Potentially, investors are buying up ASX 200 resource shares after the United States released its consumer price index (CPI) figures for May. The data showed CPI to have increased by 5% compared to the same time last year – the biggest surge in inflation in nearly 13 years.
Hence, investors might be loading up with the shares that tend to outperform technology and growth shares during inflationary periods, according to Perennial Value Management portfolio manager Dan Bosscher.
Recent Pilbara Minerals news
It's no secret that the Pilbara share price has benefitted from strong lithium demand. Lithium prices have continued to trend higher, with carbonate and hydroxide prices pushing more than 50% off November 2020 lows.
Electrifying the Pilbara share price further, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) recently announced that the electric vehicle maker plans to spend $1 billion or more in Australian minerals.
Tesla chair Robyn Denholm spoke at the Minerals Council of Australia event in Canberra:
At the heart of everything we do in our quest to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy is the lithium-ion battery – one of the most important technologies of the century.
Further adding:
Tesla's mission is to accelerate our transition to sustainable energy. There is a global transition to sustainable energy underway and this presents a huge opportunity for Australia.
Pilbara Minerals also announced in early May that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding with Calix Ltd (ASX: CXL) to develop a "midstream" lithium chemicals refinery.
