[SMM Weekly Review] The cobalt sulphate market remained generally sluggish this week, but market sentiment for procurement recovered compared to the previous period, supported by positive news from the upstream mining sector.

Published: Feb 5, 2026 18:43

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This week, the cobalt sulphate market remained largely sluggish overall. However, supported by positive news from the upstream mining sector, market purchasing sentiment showed some recovery compared to the previous period. Supply side, as the Chinese New Year holiday approaches, most smelters have successively arranged for production halts and maintenance. Combined with mining news strengthening bullish expectations for the future market, some enterprises have chosen to suspend quotations, while those maintaining quotations have raised their target prices to 96,000-98,000 yuan/mt. Demand side, due to concerns about a rapid price increase for cobalt sulphate after the holiday, downstream enterprises' purchase willingness has strengthened. It is reported that some companies' purchase intention prices for high-nickel cobalt sulphate have rebounded to 92,000 yuan/mt, while the purchase intention prices for low-nickel cobalt sulphate are in the range of 95,000-96,000 yuan/mt. Overall, as logistics gradually halt before the Chinese New Year, actual market transactions are expected to be quite limited next week, and cobalt sulphate prices are likely to remain largely stable. After the holiday, as downstream enterprises gradually resume procurement, prices may regain an upward trend.

This week, the cobalt sulphate market remained largely sluggish. However, supported by positive news from the upstream mining sector, market purchase sentiment recovered compared to the previous period. Supply side, as the Chinese New Year holiday approaches, most smelters have successively scheduled maintenance shutdowns. Coupled with mining news strengthening bullish expectations for the future market, some enterprises chose to suspend quotations, while those maintaining quotations raised their intended prices to 96,000-98,000 yuan/mt. Demand side, due to concerns about a rapid price increase of cobalt sulphate after the holiday, downstream enterprises' purchase willingness strengthened. It is reported that some companies' purchase intention prices for high-nickel cobalt sulphate rebounded to 92,000 yuan/mt, while for low-nickel cobalt sulphate it was in the range of 95,000-96,000 yuan/mt. Overall, as logistics gradually halt before the Spring Festival, actual market transactions are expected to be quite limited next week, and cobalt sulphate prices are likely to remain largely stable. After the holiday, as downstream enterprises gradually resume procurement, prices may regain an upward trend.

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

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