The cobalt‑intermediate market remained sluggish this week, with actual transactions staying limited.

Published: Aug 6, 2026 18:29

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The cobalt‑intermediate market remained sluggish this week, with actual transactions staying limited. Recently, some miners have launched multiple tenders for cobalt intermediates. However, no real transactions were concluded due to substantial price‑expectation divergence between upstream and downstream parties. The indicative price for the latest tender stood at around USD 21‑21.5 per pound.

Driven by persistent price weakness in cobalt salts and cobalt metal, downstream smelters and traders have further lowered their psychological price for raw materials to roughly USD 18‑19 per pound. A few enterprises can only accept offers as low as USD 17 per pound. The widening price gap against miners’ offers makes it difficult to close physical deals.

In the short term, although miners intend to prop up prices, downstream demand provides insufficient support. Game‑playing between buyers and sellers continues. Price recovery hinges on the revival of real downstream demand.

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