China Cobalt Market Price & Cost Review Weekly 1027

Last week, the spot price of cobalt intermediates continued its upward trend. China's cobalt intermediate imports in September increased by 85% month-on-month, primarily due to the low import base in August. As the peak demand season arrived, miners gradually released some cobalt intermediate inventories outside the Democratic Republic of Congo, leading to a significant month-on-month increase. Nevertheless, the current supply level still falls short of fully meeting domestic market demand. However, mainstream mines and traders generally maintained an optimistic outlook on the market and continued to suspend making quotations while holding back supplies, putting pressure on downstream smelters' procurement. Given that domestic cobalt raw material supply is expected to remain tight in the long term, the price of cobalt intermediates is anticipated to maintain its upward momentum.