This week, the spot price of refined cobalt maintained a fluctuating trend. Supply side, smelters continued long-term contract supply, while traders quoted based on futures. Some producers slightly lowered offers to facilitate transactions. Demand side, although the summer break ended, the market showed no significant improvement. Downstream enterprises still made just-in-time procurement, with actual transactions remaining sluggish. This was mainly due to two reasons. First, high cobalt prices squeezed production profits of downstream enterprises. Some traders reported that downstream alloy plants currently prioritized nickel procurement, while cobalt demand remained weak. Second, the DRC ban effective from September 22 is approaching. Downstream enterprises temporarily controlled procurement volumes amid policy uncertainties. Going forward, raw material shortages may drive up prices of cobalt intermediate products and cobalt salts, potentially pulling up refined cobalt prices. However, high inventory levels and relatively weak demand could restrain price increases. Market participants should monitor when refined cobalt prices start catching up with cobalt salts.
SMM New Energy Research Team
Cong Wang 021-51666838
Rui Ma 021-51595780
Disheng Feng 021-51666714
Yanlin Lü 021-20707875
Wenhao Xiao 021-51666872
Zhicheng Zhou 021-51666711
