[SMM Weekly Review] Cobalt Intermediate Products Remained Strong This Week, with Scarce Spot Cargo and an Unchanged Pattern of "Price Without Market"

Cobalt intermediate products remained strong this week, with scarce spot cargoes and an unchanged pattern of "price without market." On the supply side, mainstream spot offers held firm at $25.0/lb, while Q2 2026 futures were offered at $27/lb. On the demand side, smelters only maintained sporadic restocking for rigid needs, constrained by losses. Regarding DRC export progress, no pilot enterprises have yet completed the export process, and procedures for other enterprises are even slower, raising the possibility that all quotas for this year may be exported early next year. Factoring in a three-month shipping cycle, concentrated arrivals of DRC cargoes are expected around March-April next year. The logic of structural tightness in domestic raw materials remains unchanged, and price support at lower levels remains solid.

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

Haohan Zhang 021-51666752

Zihan Wang 021-51666914

Jie Wang 021-51595902

Yang Xu 021-51666760

Lianting Yang 021-51595835

Zhaoyu Wang 021-51666827