This is approximately the same level as in the end of May. Multiple market participants told Fastmarkets that the downstream production rate of the industrial sector - one of the main consumers of cobalt - remained at approximately 50% of their normal levels. Consumers continue to purchase only on a hand-to-mouth basis and there’s no large-scale restocking,” a second cobalt trader said. “Even though the demand for cobalt metal has improved, it is still at a low level. The slight improvement in demand did not translate to substantial support to the cobalt metal price in China and failed to stop it from sliding further, sources said. “But there are some sellers who are in very tight cashflow started to compromise with cheaper prices,” the source added. “Most buyers bid at 70,000-71,000 yuan per tonne for cobalt sulfate it is hard for us to sell at such a level considering the production costs,” he said. “Downstream buyers keep pressing down cobalt sulfate prices and are only accepting much cheaper cobalt sulfate that is produced from scrap, rather than from cobalt hydroxide that has higher production costs,” the cobalt sulfate producer said.Ī second cobalt sulfate producer source concurred. Limited support from the slight improvement in demandĬobalt sulfate trading has picked up but downstream precursor makers had no immediate demand for the material and cheaper scrap-fed materials added pressure to the prices of regular-fed cobalt sulfate, Fastmarkets learned. “Compared to previous months when Shanghai was under strict lockdowns and domestic transport was hugely disrupted, current demand for cobalt metal ,” a cobalt trader said. Similarly, China’s cobalt metal sellers noted a slight pick-up in demand entering June after the lifting of lockdowns of Covid-19 in Shanghai. “Demand for cobalt sulfate from downstream precursor makers has improved slightly, with some buyers purchasing two or three hundred tonnes each week,” a cobalt sulfate producer said. EV sales reached 447,000 units in May, up by 49.6% from April and up by 105.2% year on year. The latest assessment was down by 15.93% from 440,000-470,000 yuan per tonne on June 1.Ĭhina’s electric vehicle (EV) production is gradually recovering after the lifting of the Covid-19 lockdowns and near-restoration of normal domestic transport links, leading to increased demand for cobalt sulfate, one of the main upstream EV battery materials, market participants said.Ĭhina’s EV output reached 466,000 units in May, up by 49.5% month on month and up by 113.9% year on year, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). The latest assessment was down by 7.14% from 83,000-85,000 yuan per tonne on June 1.įastmarkets’ price assessment for cobalt 99.8% Co min, ex-works China was 380,000-385,000 yuan per tonne on Friday June 24, down by 5,000-10,000 yuan per tonne from 390,000-400,000 yuan per tonne on June 22.
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