[SMM Weekly Review] Cobalt Sulphate Spot Prices Remained Stable This Week, with the Market Showing a Supply-Demand Tug-of-War Pattern

This week, spot cobalt sulphate prices remained generally stable, with the market showing a supply-demand tug-of-war. The supply side showed a divergence: supported by raw material costs, smelters mostly maintained their offers in the high range of 88,000-90,000 yuan/mt; some traders chose to take profits amid the high cobalt price environment, selling earlier inventories at prices ranging from 81,000-85,000 yuan/mt, with specific prices varying depending on the source of raw materials and storage duration. On the demand side, downstream enterprises completed phased stockpiling after the holiday, and purchase willingness has weakened somewhat, with limited acceptance of smelters' high offers. In terms of procurement strategy, downstream customers tend to prefer older inventories circulating in the market at lower prices to control raw material costs. Overall, upstream and downstream enterprises still have differences over prices, and the market remained in a deadlock in the short term. Cobalt sulphate prices are likely to remain stable, waiting for downstream players to gradually digest and accept the prices. The next round of cobalt salt price increases is expected to wait until downstream players begin a new procurement cycle.

SMM New Energy Research Team

Cong Wang 021-51666838

Rui Ma 021-51595780

Disheng Feng 021-51666714

Yanlin Lü 021-20707875

Wenhao Xiao 021-51666872

Zhicheng Zhou 021-51666711