[SMM Weekly Review] Spot Refined Cobalt Prices Fluctuated Upward This Week

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 attitude, generally suspending quotations, while some producers raised ex-factory prices; traders followed the futures market by increasing spot quotations. Demand side performance was relatively sluggish, with downstream consumers still mainly making 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 and created a large price spread between refined cobalt and cobalt salts. However, considering that refined cobalt can be used as a raw material to reverse-smelt cobalt salts, refined cobalt prices are expected to gradually converge toward the reverse-smelting cost of cobalt salts.

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