Cobalt market weighs significance of nickel, copper price corrections

The spot cobalt market was treading water on Thursday March 4 while market sources mulled whether falls in copper, nickel and Chinese cobalt futures prices could spill over to hit benchmark cobalt metal prices, sources told Fastmarkets

Fastmarkets' benchmark price assessment for cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam stood at $24.75-25.65 per lb on Thursday, unchanged from the previous day but up 61% since the start of the year when it was $15.35-16 per lb.
In Thursday's pricing session, several offers for cobalt metal from funds were reported at the bottom of the range but there was no indication that sellers were panicking and those offers helped return a stable assessment.
European sellers were still holding their offers toward the top of, or above, the range and market sources said fundamentals for the cobalt market continue to unpin the price.

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