[SMM Weekly Review] Spot Prices of Cobalt Intermediate Products Continued to Rise This Week

Published: Sep 11, 2025 17:41

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Spot prices for cobalt intermediate products continued their upward trend this week. In the domestic market, a small volume of transactions for mainstream brands were concluded at $14/lb, and some enterprises reported potential transactions in the range of $14.1–$14.3/lb. Supply side, major miners halted offers and suspended quotations, and traders followed suit by temporarily withholding quotes. Demand side, under high cost pressure, smelters maintained only rigid procurement pace. Recent market performance indicates that high-priced intermediate products have significantly dampened downstream purchase willingness, with some enterprises turning to cobalt salt as a substitute for intermediate products to alleviate cost pressure. Overall, affected by the DRC's extension policy, China's cobalt intermediate products will continue to face raw material shortages, with upward momentum in prices, but attention should be paid to the inhibitory effect of rising raw material prices on downstream demand during this process.

Spot prices of cobalt intermediate products continued to rise this week. In the domestic market, a small volume of transactions were concluded at $14/lb for mainstream brands, and some enterprises reported potential transactions in the range of $14.1-14.3/lb. Supply side, major miners suspended offers, and traders also temporarily halted quotations. Demand side, smelters maintained only rigid procurement pace under high cost pressure. Recent market performance shows that high-priced intermediate products have significantly suppressed downstream purchase willingness, with some enterprises turning to cobalt salt as a substitute to alleviate cost pressure. Overall, affected by the DRC's extension policy, China's cobalt intermediate products will continue to face raw material shortages, and prices have upward momentum, but attention should be paid to the suppression of downstream demand caused by rising raw material prices.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Wang Cong 021-51666838

Ma Rui 021-51595780

Feng Disheng 021-51666714

Lü Yanlin 021-20707875

Xiao Wenhao 021-51666872

Zhou Zhicheng 021-51666711

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