Trader and consumer restocking sent prices for cobalt metal higher on Wednesday January 8, with firmer Chinese equity markets, salts prices and raw material payables also underpinning sentiment.
Fastmarkets assessed the price for
cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam at $15.55-16.50 per lb on Wednesday, up 2.4% from Friday.
The
cobalt alloy-grade, in-whs Rotterdam price was marginally higher at $15.85-16.55 per lb on the same day, up from $15.80-16.45 per lb at the end of last week.
About 375 tonnes of spot business was reported to Fastmarkets across the two assessments.
"All of a sudden there's a lot of inquiries and it's all heading towards $16," a distributor said.
Sellers successfully hiked their offer prices as inquiries from the trade and end users continued to mount following market participants' return from the Christmas and New Year holidays.
"On Monday you could...