[SMM Weekly Review] Spot Prices of Refined Cobalt Maintained a Fluctuating Trend This Week

This week, the spot price of refined cobalt maintained a fluctuating trend. Supply side, differentiation was observed, as low profits for refined cobalt led many smelters to halt production, and enterprises that continued operations generally suspended quotations under cost pressure. Recent futures fluctuations were significant, and some traders faced funding pressures, actively offloading cargo with spot-futures price spreads remaining at relatively low levels. Demand side, downstream enterprises were concerned about further price declines, resulting in weak purchase willingness and continued just-in-time procurement pace, with overall transactions not showing significant volume increases. Overall, after recent adjustments in refined cobalt prices, the price spread between refined cobalt and cobalt salts remained within a reasonable range. Future refined cobalt prices need to await an uptick driven by cobalt salt 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