Chinese cobalt sulfate price pressured by weak domestic cobalt metal market, viral outbreak in S Korea

Weakness in cobalt metal prices along with growing concerns of disruptions to downstream battery operations in South Korea amid an outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) are weighing heavily on the Chinese cobalt sulfate market.

Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt sulfate 20.5% Co basis, exw China was 53,000-55,000 yuan ($7,615-7,903) per tonne on Wednesday March 4, a drop of 2,000 yuan per tonne or 3.6% from 55,000-57,000 yuan per tonne on February 28 - the biggest decline between consecutive pricing sessions since mid-November 2019.
Spot trades were minimal with major consumers sitting comfortably on their inventories while anticipating further decreases in suppliers' offer prices.
"My sulfate stocks should enable me to operate until late March. So I don't need to top up inventories until mid-March," a consumer source said. "By that time, sulfate prices should be much lower than current levels."

"I had a couple of inquiries this week, but no one purchased anything in the end," a producer source...

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