The Chinese domestic cobalt sulfate price has moved up due to tightened supply amid active restocking activities ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday from February 4-10.
Fastmarkets MB's China cobalt sulfate, basis 20.5% Co, ex-works price rose to 66,000-68,000 yuan ($9,669-9,962) per tonne on Wednesday January 9, from 65,000-68,000 yuan per tonne previously. Meanwhile, the accelerated downtrend in the international cobalt benchmark in December has extended into January as a result of greater cobalt availability in Europe. Fastmarkets MB assessed the standard-grade cobalt price at $24.75-26.25 per lb on January 9, dropping from $25.75-27.25 per lb last Friday. Therefore, the discount that the cobalt sulfate price has over the low-end price of the standard-grade cobalt benchmark, Co 20.5% basis, narrowed quickly to $1.19-1.31 per lb - a level that was last achieved in August 2018, according to Fastmarkets MB's data. If converted to the full cobalt metal price, the discount was at about...