[SMM Weekly Review] Cobalt Intermediate Products: Spot Cargoes Firm at $25/lb, Quotas May Extend Beyond the Year, Price Support Remains Strong

Published: Dec 31, 2025 15:34

Save

Cobalt intermediate products remained strong this week, with spot cargoes remaining scarce and the "price without market" situation unchanged. Supply side, after a small amount of spot transactions were concluded at $25.0/lb, offer prices continued to attempt to move higher, while Q2 2026 futures offers held at $27/lb. Demand side, smelters only sporadically restocked for rigid needs due to losses. In terms of export progress, pilot enterprises had not completed their first shipments, with the earliest small-batch pilot exports expected to be completed in early January 2026. Concentrated shipments may not occur until mid-to-late January or later. Given a three-month shipping cycle, bulk arrivals of DRC supplies are expected in March-April next year. The logic of structural tightness in domestic raw materials remains unchanged, providing solid support for prices.

Cobalt intermediate products remained strong this week, with scarce spot cargoes and the "price without market" situation unchanged. Supply side, after a small amount of spot transactions at $25.0/lb, offer prices continued to attempt to move higher, while Q2 2026 futures offers held at $27/lb. Demand side, smelters faced losses and only made sporadic restocking for rigid demand. Regarding export progress, pilot enterprises had not completed the first shipment, with the earliest small-batch pilot exports expected to be completed in early January 2026. Concentrated shipments were likely to occur after mid-to-late January. Given a three-month transportation cycle, bulk arrivals of DRC supplies were expected around March-April next year. The logic of structural tightness in domestic raw materials remained unchanged, with solid support below prices.

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

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn

For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn

Related News

19 hours ago

In January, national passenger car producers' new energy wholesale estimates reached 900,000 units, up 1% YoY.

According to the latest data from the Passenger Car Association, in December 2025, producers with new energy wholesale sales exceeding 10,000 units accounted for 93% of the total wholesale sales of passenger NEVs that month. Based on preliminary January data, these producers achieved sales of 830,000 units in January. As most producers have already locked in their major sales figures, by applying the structural proportion from the previous month to the current month's data, the estimated wholesale sales of passenger NEVs nationwide in January were 900,000 units. According to comprehensive preliminary monthly association data: the estimated wholesale sales of NEVs by national passenger car producers in January 2026 were 900,000 units, up 1% YoY.

19 hours ago

CAAM: In 2025, 476,000 complete vehicles were imported, down 32.4% YoY.

据中国汽车工业协会整理的海关总署数据显示，2025年12月，汽车整车进口3.0万辆，环比下降30.4%，同比下降56.1%；进口金额14.7亿美元，环比下降23.6%，同比下降52.5%。2025年，汽车整车进口47.6万辆，同比下降32.4%；进口金额236.4亿美元，同比下降39.7%。

19 hours ago

Canada Announces New EV Strategy, to Collaborate with China

According to CCTV News, on February 5, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a new electric vehicle strategy, including the reinstatement of car purchase subsidies, and stated that Canada will cooperate with China to promote the local production and export of EVs in Canada. According to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office of Canada, the country will make full use of existing and newly established trade agreements, including a recently reached EV cooperation agreement with China, to facilitate large-scale investment in this sector, diversify Canada’s automotive export markets, and position Canada as one of the global leaders in the electric vehicle industry.

19 hours ago