[SMM Weekly Review] Refined cobalt prices continued to rise this week

This week, refined cobalt prices continued to rise. On the supply side, smelters raised their ex-factory prices due to the continuous increase in production costs. Domestic futures prices increased, and traders followed suit by raising their quotes. On the demand side, social inventory of refined cobalt remained high, and most downstream producers maintained a just-in-time procurement rhythm. Some traders reported that the rapid increase in quotes had weakened downstream inquiries sentiment, and buyers were becoming more cautious in their purchases. Overall, due to the rapid price increase this week, the entire market was still in a wait-and-see mode, with limited actual transactions. In the short term, it is expected that refined cobalt prices will fluctuate upward, and subsequent price trends will require close attention to cost increases and actual downstream procurement situations.

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