Pre-Chinese New Year restocking supports cobalt hydroxide market gains

Prices and payables for cobalt hydroxide continued their upward trend last week amid buoyant trade, with Chinese buyers busily securing units arriving ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday (February 11-17, 2021).

Fastmarkets' cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China rose to 80-81% of the standard-grade cobalt price (low end) on Friday November 13, up 0.3% from 79.5-81% midweek. Intermediate payables had previously held at 79-81% for nearly two weeks.
Spot activity picked up quickly last week with buyers showing a strong appetite for restocking of seaborne December cargoes, which should arrive in China ahead of the new year break when local logistics operations typically slow down.
"Buyers have another couple of weeks to make sure they get pre-holiday deliveries on time," a distributor source said.

Meanwhile, spot supplies have remained fairly tight, with suppliers quickly allocating...

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