FOCUS: Covid-19 pushes cobalt metal prices to new floor

Cobalt metal is trading at the time of publication in mid-July at prices around an 11-month low since breaking through a price floor just above $15 per lb that had been set in December 2019.

The Covid-19 pandemic has badly affected global industry including the production of cobalt-containing products, and has clouded the outlook for future consumption, outweighing the effects of the supply disruptions that have arisen out of attempts to contain the infection.
Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, was $13.75-14.05 per lb on July 20, down from the year-to-date high of $17.00-17.50 per lb seen in March.
Alloy-grade cobalt has regularly traded at parity or with a slim premium to standard grade in recent weeks. Fastmarkets' price assessment for cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, was $13.80-14.10 per lb on July 20, down from the year-to-date high of $17.80-18.40 per lb in early March.

Alloy and standard grade prices rose by 13% and 11% respectively between January 1 and March 10, supported by consumer and trader restocking, amid a sense that the closure...

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