A sudden shutdown of a cobalt enterprise has led to an increase in cobalt prices.

According to SMM, last Friday, a certain cobalt enterprise stopped production due to force majeure, affecting production by about 500 tons per month, thereby impacting the supply of cobalt in the market. In addition, due to the relatively stable demand for downstream alloys and magnetic materials in the electrolytic cobalt sector, the market has seen a small shortage in the short term, leading to an increase in electrolytic cobalt prices. SMM initially conservatively estimates the shutdown period to be until the end of April, and will continue to follow up on the situation.