In July 2025, SMM's cobalt sulphate production decreased by 9.56% MoM and increased by 1.01% YoY.
In terms of raw material sources for production, cobalt intermediate products accounted for approximately 53%, MHP accounted for about 18%, and recycled materials accounted for roughly 29%. Due to the extension of the DRC's ban, cobalt intermediate product prices continued to rise, and smelters' inventory of cobalt intermediate product raw materials gradually decreased. Currently, recycled materials and MHP are gradually squeezing out cobalt intermediate products.
In terms of supply, the spot price of cobalt sulphate in July generally showed a continuous upward trend. However, due to the larger increase in cobalt intermediate product prices, the production cost of cobalt sulphate further inverted. Some cobalt sulphate smelters, due to weak production economics or shortages of raw material inventory, still chose to reduce cobalt sulphate production and switch to producing other cobalt products with better economics.
Demand side, July was still in the off-season for consumption. Orders from downstream ternary and Co3O4 enterprises did not show significant improvement. They chose to wait and see in the market, mainly digesting previous inventories. A few enterprises with relatively short days of raw material inventories focused on just-in-time procurement, and demand was relatively stable.
It is expected that by August, the issue of tight raw material supply for cobalt intermediate products will become more prominent. Smelters' production schedules will become more cautious. Individual enterprises with relatively limited inventories will continue to choose to cut cobalt sulphate production or even suspend production. It is expected that cobalt sulphate production schedules will decrease by 3.57% MoM in August.
