[SMM Weekly Review] This week, the spot price of cobalt sulphate declined slightly

This week, the spot price of cobalt sulphate experienced a slight decline. On the supply side, the quotes from mainstream cobalt sulphate smelters remained relatively stable, with some enterprises lowering their quotes to boost mid-year performance, while quotes from recycling plants remained at low market prices. On the demand side, orders from ternary cathode precursor producers did not show significant recovery, maintaining just-in-time procurement. Due to poor economic viability, refined cobalt procurement was basically suspended. Co3O4 producers were still depleting their inventory due to excessive stockpiling in the early stage. Overall, although the downstream producers' willingness to inquire about prices increased somewhat due to the news of the "short essay" from the DRC, buyers remained cautious, with inquiries mainly aimed at probing the sellers' bottom prices, and actual market transactions were limited. It is expected that the DRC's policy may be officially announced by the end of this week. After the policy is implemented, the spot price of cobalt sulphate is likely to experience significant fluctuations.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Cong Wang 021-51666838

Rui Ma 021-51595780

Disheng Feng 021-51666714

Yanlin Lv 021-20707875

Wenhao Xiao 021-51666872

Zhicheng Zhou 021-51666711