SMM News, August 28: Spot quotations for cobalt products this week continued the previous in the doldrums trend. Although spot refined cobalt quotations were boosted early in the week by overseas miners’ purchases of low-priced intermediate products, and futures stopped falling and rebounded, downstream demand remained in the off-season, with limited improvement in spot transactions, and the gains were later erased. Cobalt sulphate, affected by low-priced deals outside China and weakening cost support, saw its average price fall to 71,000 yuan/mt; cobalt chloride and Co3O4 overall stayed weak but stable…… SMM has compiled the changes in spot prices of cobalt products this week, as follows:
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According to SMM spot quotations, spot refined cobalt quotations rose first and then fell this week. After rising by 2,500 yuan/mt on August 25, they fell by 2,500 yuan/mt on August 28, erasing the earlier gains. As of August 28, spot refined cobalt quotations held at 300,000-310,000 yuan/mt, with an average of 305,000 yuan/mt, unchanged from August 21.
Supply and demand side, on the supply side, overseas miners announced early in the week that they would purchase low-priced intermediate products in the market, sending a clear signal of holding prices firm. Boosted by this, low prices in electronic trading rebounded from around 290,000 yuan/mt to above 300,000 yuan/mt, and then moved sideways within a range. With market sentiment recovering, traders who had previously suspended quotations gradually resumed external quotations this week, with the spot-futures price spread quoted at a premium of 1,000-13,000 yuan/mt; mainstream smelters’ EXW prices were lowered to 310,000 yuan/mt. On the demand side, downstream enterprises’ summer break had not yet ended, and overall purchasing was mainly restocking for rigid demand, with limited improvement in transaction activity. In the short term, miners’ efforts to hold prices firm provided some support, but with demand follow-through insufficient in the off-season, upside room for a price rebound may be constrained. Going forward, attention should be paid to the pace of downstream restocking after the summer break ends and the sustainability of intermediate product purchases.
Cobalt Intermediate Product Prices:
According to SMM spot quotations, spot quotations for cobalt intermediate products (CIF China) held steady this week after falling by 2.5 $/lb on August 24. As of August 28, spot quotations for cobalt intermediate products (CIF China) were around $18-20/lb, with an average of $19/lb.
According to SMM, the stalemate in the cobalt intermediate product market remained unchanged this week, but the center of the game shifted down noticeably. Recently, some overseas enterprises sold small volumes of off-spec material at $15/lb, delivering a clear blow to market sentiment. To stabilize market expectations, an overseas miner announced early in the week that it would purchase low-priced intermediate products at $16/lb and below, releasing a clear signal of holding prices firm. From the quotation situation, most miners’ target prices still held above $20/lb, but downstream target purchase prices, dragged down by falling cobalt salt prices, had further pulled back to $15-18/lb. The buying-selling price spread still existed; recent tenders were basically unsuccessful, and deals remained difficult. In the short term, miners’ price-supporting move of purchasing low-priced cargo may provide some support to the price floor, but before the psychological price spread between upstream and downstream narrows, the market is still unlikely to see substantive deals, and the stalemate is expected to continue.
Cobalt Salt ( and ):
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According to SMM spot quotations, spot cobalt sulphate quotations held steady this week after a brief decline early in the week. As of August 28, spot cobalt sulphate quotations temporarily held at 70,000-72,000 yuan/mt, with an average of 71,000 yuan/mt, down 2,500 yuan/mt from 73,500 yuan/mt on August 21, a decline of 3.4%.
According to SMM, the weakness in the cobalt sulphate market remained unchanged this week, with the price center continuing to move lower and the tug-of-war between buyers and sellers further intensifying. Recently, low-priced deals for Indonesian cobalt sulphate at 63,000 yuan/mt delivered a clear shock to the market, becoming the main source of downward pressure this week. On the supply side, the MHP cobalt coefficient had pulled back to around a 70% discount, and spot production costs fell to about 69,000 yuan/mt, further weakening cost support. Quotation strategies of primary material and recycled material enterprises tended to converge, with both holding firm at the 70,000 yuan/mt threshold; if downstream enterprises expressed clear purchase willingness, they could consider selling around 65,000-68,000 yuan/mt.
On the demand side, downstream target purchase prices generally anchored to the earlier low-priced deals at 63,000 yuan/mt, with target prices pressed to 63,000 yuan/mt and below. The price spread between buyers and sellers was wide, and actual deals remained difficult. As month-end approached, some enterprises began signing new orders. Currently, downstream target prices were at 90% of SMM’s low-end price and below, while upstream enterprises’ targets were at 93-95%. In the short term, as the September-October peak season approaches, downstream demand is expected to recover slowly and enterprises have stockpiling needs; late August to early September prices may gradually stop falling and stabilize. However, current market sentiment remained weak, and price improvement will need to wait for clear signals of concentrated downstream purchasing.
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According to SMM spot quotations, spot cobalt chloride quotations held steady this week after falling for two consecutive trading days early in the week. As of August 28, spot cobalt chloride quotations temporarily held at 85,000-89,000 yuan/mt, with an average of 87,000 yuan/mt, down 2,000 yuan/mt from 89,000 yuan/mt on August 21, a decline of 2.3%.
According to SMM, the cobalt chloride market slipped slightly this week, with transactions still sluggish and no obvious improvement. From the cost perspective, even recycling with the lowest costs was now facing losses in nickel, cobalt, and lithium; from the sentiment perspective, although enterprise sentiment remained pessimistic, improvement was clearly felt. Facing high-priced inventory in warehouses and high-cost raw material, enterprises’ sentiment to hold prices firm for cobalt chloride increased. From the demand side, current demand remained sluggish; the market may see purchasing, but small-volume purchases were not enough to boost prices. Recently, a top-tier upstream player intended to purchase intermediate products at $16 with no cap, which provided some support to market confidence, but was still not enough to drive a price rebound. Overall, cobalt chloride prices are expected to remain weak but stable in the short term.
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According to SMM spot quotations, spot Co3O4 quotations continued to hold steady this week. As of August 28, spot Co3O4 quotations held at 275,000-300,000 yuan/mt, with an average of 287,500 yuan/mt, remaining stable compared with August 21.
According to SMM, transactions in the Co3O4 market were also relatively limited this week, with overall performance stable but weak. Although upstream cobalt chloride prices declined, top-tier players’ external quotations remained relatively firm and did not follow raw material prices with a sharp cut, reflecting that enterprises still tended to stabilize price expectations amid insufficient orders. Downstream purchase willingness was low, with strong wait-and-see sentiment, and actual deals were mainly small orders for rigid demand. SMM expected that in the short term, Co3O4 prices would mainly move sideways within a narrow range, with limited downside room and insufficient drivers for a rise.
On the news front, this week, the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government issued the “15th Five-Year Plan” for Shanghai to Accelerate the Development of an International Trade Center. It mentioned accelerating the expansion of bulk trading categories, expanding trading scale for key metals such as copper and aluminum, accelerating the improvement of the futures product sequence for emerging metals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, improving the service system for new energy products, and supporting the Lin-gang Special Area in building a hydrogen-based green energy trading platform.
On corporate developments, previously, Tengyuan Cobalt, in response to investor inquiries, stated that for its DRC hydrometallurgy smelter project with annual capacity of 30,000 mt of copper and 2,000 mt of cobalt, from project approval to completion and commissioning, the company fully leveraged its core advantages of in-house production line design, proprietary process R&D, and in-house manufacturing of key equipment, completing construction efficiently in less than 15 months. As of July 9, 2026, the project had been completed and entered trial production with feed, successfully producing qualified products.
