Refined cobalt:
Spot prices for refined cobalt resumed their grind lower this week. On the supply side, mainstream smelters raised their EXW prices slightly to 390,000 yuan/mt, but after the market continued to weaken, most traders suspended public quotations, leading to a strong wait-and-see sentiment. On the demand side, as hot weather arrived, downstream enterprises gradually entered their summer break. Purchase willingness was sluggish, and they only maintained a small amount of rigid restocking. This week, refined cobalt fundamentals did not show significant changes, and amid extremely sluggish transactions, a small amount of fund exits driven by bearish sentiment became a notable drag on prices. Overall, July-August is the traditional consumption off-season for refined cobalt, providing limited demand support. In the short term, prices are likely to remain in the doldrums.
Cobalt intermediate products:
Prices for cobalt intermediate products held steady overall this week. On the supply side, some Chinese-funded miners based their offer benchmarks on the low-end standard European refined cobalt price * (cobalt hydroxide payable - premium), but due to significant differences between upstream and downstream expectations for the premium coefficient, actual deal negotiations stalled. On the demand side, valuations in the cobalt salt market stayed low. The acceptable price level for raw material purchases by downstream smelters was only around $22-23/lb, and only a small amount of trader inventory changed hands within this range. In the short term, while miners remain inclined to hold prices firm, demand support from the downstream smelting segment is insufficient. With buyers and sellers still in a stalemate, intermediate product prices are expected to continue to hold steady.
Cobalt sulphate:
Transactions in the cobalt sulphate market remained sluggish this week. On the supply side, primary smelters held quotes high, and mainstream enterprises continued to defend the 85,000 yuan/mt mark. To accelerate capital turnover, recycling smelters kept their lowest offers at 80,000-81,000 yuan/mt. Demand showed no improvement, as the inventories of top-tier players remained relatively ample and they had not yet released purchase demand. A new round of restocking may not start until after August. Although small and medium-sized enterprises had rigid demand, the in-the-doldrums price trend suppressed their stockpiling enthusiasm, so they only made small-scale purchases as needed. In the short term, cobalt sulphate prices are expected to consolidate on a subdued note. Sustained market recovery still awaits the materialization of downstream centralized restocking demand.
SMM New Energy Research Team
Wang Cong 021-51666838
Ma Rui 021-51595780
Feng Disheng 021-51666714
Lv Yanlin 021-20707875
Xiao Wenhao 021-51666872
Zhang Haohan 021-51666752
Wang Zihan 021-51666914
Wang Jie 021-51595902
Xu Yang 021-51666760
Yang Lianting 021-51595835
Wang Zhaoyu 021-51666827
![[SMM Separator Weekly Review] Prices remained stable overall this week.](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/fblvS20251217171729.png)
![Artificial Graphite Steady with Gains, Natural Graphite Sideways and Hard to Break [SMM Lithium Battery Anode Raw Material Market Weekly Review]](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/zJWny20251217171726.jpg)
![Graphitisation processing fees run steadily under the industry break-even point [SMM Lithium Battery Anode Raw Material Market Weekly Review]](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/ajAmi20251217171726.jpg)
