Cobalt intermediate product prices held up well this week. Domestic enterprises announced a suspension of toll processing for intermediate products over the weekend, intensifying expectations of supply tightening, and holders continued to raise their offers. Overall demand remained stable; although some smelters had purchasing intentions, actual transactions continued to be sluggish due to raw material costs being significantly higher than cobalt salt prices and sellers holding prices firm. The market maintained a pattern of "nominal prices without actual transactions." Currently, the export approval process in the DRC has not yet been completed, and actual exports of intermediate products have not resumed. Considering the approximately three-month shipping period to China, domestic cobalt raw material supply is expected to remain structurally tight before Q1 2026, and intermediate product prices still have upward support.
SMM New Energy Research Team
Wang Cong 021-51666838
Ma Rui 021-51595780
Feng Disheng 021-51666714
Lyu Yanlin 021-20707875
Xiao Wenhao 021-51666872
Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711
