October 17: Northern ports: South African high-iron fines at 29.3-30 yuan/mtu, down 0.67% WoW; South African semi-carbonate at 34-34.5 yuan/mtu, down 0.58% WoW; Gabon fines at 39.6-40.2 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Australian lumps at 40.2-40.9 yuan/mtu, down 0.74% WoW; South African medium-iron fines at 35-35.7 yuan/mtu, down 0.56% WoW. Southern ports: South African high-iron fines at 30.6-31.1 yuan/mtu, up 0.98% WoW; South African semi-carbonate at 36.9-37.4 yuan/mtu, up 1.64% WoW; Gabon fines at 40.6-40.9 yuan/mtu, up 0.49% WoW; Australian lumps at 40-40.5 yuan/mtu, up 0.50% WoW; South African medium-iron fines at 36.4-37.1 yuan/mtu, flat WoW.

LCO: Raw Material Cost Transmission and Battery Cell Stockpiling Drive Price Increases, Inventory Buffer Suppresses Urgent Order Demand

This week, spot prices of refined cobalt fluctuated upward. Over the weekend, the DRC announced detailed rules for cobalt quota allocation, with the quotas obtained by Chinese enterprises slightly lower than market expectations, sparking concerns over tightening cobalt supply from China in the future. Driven by this sentiment, domestic futures prices fluctuated upward this week. On the supply side, most smelters adopted a wait-and-see approach, generally suspending price quotations, while some producers raised ex-factory prices. Traders followed the futures market by increasing spot quotations. On the demand side, performance remained relatively sluggish, with downstream buyers continuing to make just-in-time procurement, and actual transactions did not see a significant increase. Overall, the rapid rise in cobalt prices has already exerted some restraint on downstream demand, resulting in a significant price spread between refined cobalt and cobalt salts. However, considering that refined cobalt can be used as raw material for reverse smelting into cobalt salts, refined cobalt prices are expected to gradually converge toward the reverse smelting cost of cobalt salts.