Spot prices for cobalt intermediate products continued to rise this week, with overseas market offers increasing steadily. In the domestic market, transactions were recorded around $14.4/lb. On the supply side, major miners maintained their suspension of sales, while traders also halted shipments as they awaited policy developments in the DRC. Demand side, smelters maintained only essential procurement pace under high raw material cost pressure. Overall, amid current policy uncertainty, both buyers and sellers were hesitant to make early judgments, keeping the market sluggish. Once policies are implemented, cobalt intermediate product prices are expected to see significant changes.

This week, spot cobalt sulphate prices continued to rise. Supply side, most smelters were pessimistic about DRC policies and bullish on future cobalt prices, temporarily suspending offers and raising intended selling prices. Currently, most intermediate product smelters targeted prices above 60,000 yuan/mt, while MHP and recycling enterprises had slightly lower target prices but overall maintained reluctance to budge on prices. Demand side, as cobalt sulphate market prices rose too rapidly and DRC policies remained uncertain, downstream buyers were relatively cautious, mainly consuming their own inventory and postponing purchases, resulting in overall sluggish market transactions. It is expected that market transactions will likely improve after policies are implemented this Sunday or next Monday.

This week, spot prices of refined cobalt in China fluctuated upward. The market awaited the implementation of DRC policies on September 21, with both sellers and buyers remaining relatively cautious. Supply side, major smelters maintained long-term contract supplies, and some enterprises raised ex-factory prices, while traders quoted following futures. Demand side, downstream enterprises primarily purchased for rigid demand, and actual market transactions were sluggish. Future market prices still depend on the implementation of DRC policies, and attention should be paid to changes in the price spread between refined cobalt and cobalt salts, particularly when refined cobalt is reverse-processed into cobalt salts.

[SMM Magnesium Weekly: Magnesium Market in a Tug-of-War Between Supply and Demand, with Prices and Industry Chain Products Exhibiting a Fluctuating Trend] This week, the performance of products related to the magnesium industry chain was influenced by both supply and demand, showing different trends. For dolomite, although leading mines resumed production, previous maintenance kept inventory at low levels. Meanwhile, the increase in operating rates of magnesium plants in major production areas drove up consumption, leading to a slight price increase supported by demand. In the magnesium ingot market, the tug-of-war between sellers and buyers intensified. In major production areas, demand was sluggish due to the post-delivery impact of last week's foreign trade orders. However, rising prices of raw materials such as dolomite bolstered magnesium plants' reluctance to sell, keeping prices firm in the short term due to cost support. In the long run, prices may trend downward due to strong supply and weak demand. At the Tianjin Port FOB market, the wait-and-see sentiment was strong. Early spot orders saw active transactions, but the quotation range expanded later. With the National Day holiday approaching and the US dollar weakening, traders adopted a cautious stance toward October shipments, and price trends will need to be verified after the holiday based on shipment conditions. In the magnesium powder market, supply-side production increased slightly, with manufacturers mostly fulfilling previous orders. After a brief pre-holiday stockpiling demand emerged, downstream and overseas buyers turned to a wait-and-see approach due to rising prices, resulting in mediocre transactions. Prices edged up slightly with cost support but remained rangebound and stagnant. Magnesium alloy prices fluctuated in line with magnesium ingots. On the supply side, manufacturers scheduled production based on orders, with spot supply tight and some orders scheduled for next month. Operating rates increased with order volumes. On the demand side, sectors such as NEVs saw rising demand, but downstream die-casting plants exhibited fear of high prices, and transactions at high prices remained to be followed up.

[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Pr-Nd Prices Fluctuate Rangebound, Medium-Heavy Rare Earth Market Remains Sluggish] This week, Pr-Nd alloy was quoted at 695,000-705,000 yuan/mt, pulling back from the price at the beginning of the week. At the start of the week, influenced by tenders for Pr-Nd alloy from several major magnetic material enterprises, market sentiment turned bullish again, and metal enterprises showed a weaker willingness to sell at low prices, driving a slight price increase. However, after the concentrated procurement by downstream magnetic material enterprises concluded, overall market inquiries were sluggish, with few actual transactions, leading to a price pullback.

[SMM Lithium Battery Electrolyte Market Weekly Review: Electrolyte Prices Held Steady This Week (2025.9.15-9.18)] From September 15 to September 18, 2025, electrolyte prices held steady. Considering the market supply-demand situation and cost side factors, electrolyte prices were expected to remain stable in the short term.

[SMM Domestic Analysis: Frequent Fluctuations in Magnesium Metal Raw Material Prices, Magnesium Prices Fluctuate Rangebound—What Is the Impact on Magnesium Prices?] After nearly half a month of tug-of-war between sellers and buyers in the magnesium market, the future trend has been determined, with the supply-demand balance tilting once again toward downstream buyers. Recently, magnesium prices have shown a slow downward trend. As of the time of writing, the price of 99.90% magnesium ingot in the main production areas has fallen below the 16,000 yuan/mt mark, with mainstream quotations from magnesium producers ranging around 16,650-16,750 yuan/mt. However, considering that although producer's inventory has increased, it remains at a multi-year low, has the downward channel for magnesium prices already opened?

[SMM Shanghai Spot Copper] Copper prices are expected to decline tomorrow. As it coincides with Friday, downstream buying interest is anticipated to persist, offering hope for a stabilization in premiums.

On September 18, the SMM battery-grade nickel sulphate index price was 27,925 yuan/mt, with the quotation range for battery-grade nickel sulphate at 27,980-28,180 yuan/mt, and the average price increased compared to the previous day.