Cobalt market summary Sep 22-27
2008-09-28 09:59:51 【Print】
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 28 Sep 08 – Cobalt market starts to soften during the week both in China and in Europe. With more raw materials coming into China, participants believe the price will probably start to drop after the National Day holiday.
The cobalt price remains steady at around USD37.50/lb on the Australian BHP Billiton, but the company has not sold any materials for more than 20 days.
Seeing the financial crisis and the slowing world economy, the price starts to fall in European market after the sharp increase. The price falls to around USD34.00-36.00/lb for cobalt 99.8%min and USD32.00-34.00/lb for 99.3%, down by around USD1-2/lb compared with the previous week. However, most participants believe the price will rebound again in October when cheap materials are sold out.
With the price of cobalt cathode keeping stable both in China and in Europe, the whole cobalt market seems to be lack of vigor to increase any more. Meanwhile, since a considerable amount of concentrates come into Chinese market, the tight supply of raw materials starts to ease. As a result, participants are pessimistic about the future market, believing the price will fall after the National Day holiday.
Cobalt cathode price retreats slightly from RMB580-600/kg (USD31.71-32.80/lb) to around RMB575-595/kg (USD31.44-32.53/lb) during the week, mainly because consumers are more reluctant to purchase materials.
Suppliers continue to offer cobalt powder at around RMB680-700/kg (USD99.71-102.64/kg). But few deals are concluded as consumers have stocked enough materials at prices below RMB600/kg (USD87.98/kg).
Since the supply of cobalt concentrates start to ease, some suppliers start to lower the price to sell cobalt chloride, believing the price of around RMB140/kg (USD20.53/kg) is profitable enough for this round of price hike. With the week drawing to a close, more suppliers lower the offers to around RMB135/kg (USD19.79/kg).
Offers of cobalt sulfate retreat slightly to around RMB120/kg (USD17.60/kg) from around RMB125/kg (USD18.33/kg) during the week. But the market remains in thin trading.
Cobalt oxalate market is still in tight supply with prices standing at around RMB193-195/kg (USD28.30-28.59/kg). However, consumers are not ready to purchase since the price is likely to drop.
The price of cobalt oxide is around RMB440-450/kg (USD64.52-65.98/kg), almost the same as that in the previous week.
Quotations of cobalt monoxide remain in a wide range from RMB500/kg (USD73.31/kg) to RMB550/kg (USD80.65/kg), but deals are only concluded at around RMB530/kg (USD77.71/kg) and the market is relatively quiet.
The cobalt tetroxide market remains in tight supply at around RMB450-460/kg (USD65.98-67.45/kg), on a par with that of lithium cobalt oxide. However, participants worry that the economic recession in the US may reduce the demand of lithium batteries in the coming months.
Participants are generally pessimistic about the future, believing that the price will probably start to drop in October.
The cobalt price remains steady at around USD37.50/lb on the Australian BHP Billiton, but the company has not sold any materials for more than 20 days.
Seeing the financial crisis and the slowing world economy, the price starts to fall in European market after the sharp increase. The price falls to around USD34.00-36.00/lb for cobalt 99.8%min and USD32.00-34.00/lb for 99.3%, down by around USD1-2/lb compared with the previous week. However, most participants believe the price will rebound again in October when cheap materials are sold out.
With the price of cobalt cathode keeping stable both in China and in Europe, the whole cobalt market seems to be lack of vigor to increase any more. Meanwhile, since a considerable amount of concentrates come into Chinese market, the tight supply of raw materials starts to ease. As a result, participants are pessimistic about the future market, believing the price will fall after the National Day holiday.
Cobalt cathode price retreats slightly from RMB580-600/kg (USD31.71-32.80/lb) to around RMB575-595/kg (USD31.44-32.53/lb) during the week, mainly because consumers are more reluctant to purchase materials.
Suppliers continue to offer cobalt powder at around RMB680-700/kg (USD99.71-102.64/kg). But few deals are concluded as consumers have stocked enough materials at prices below RMB600/kg (USD87.98/kg).
Since the supply of cobalt concentrates start to ease, some suppliers start to lower the price to sell cobalt chloride, believing the price of around RMB140/kg (USD20.53/kg) is profitable enough for this round of price hike. With the week drawing to a close, more suppliers lower the offers to around RMB135/kg (USD19.79/kg).
Offers of cobalt sulfate retreat slightly to around RMB120/kg (USD17.60/kg) from around RMB125/kg (USD18.33/kg) during the week. But the market remains in thin trading.
Cobalt oxalate market is still in tight supply with prices standing at around RMB193-195/kg (USD28.30-28.59/kg). However, consumers are not ready to purchase since the price is likely to drop.
The price of cobalt oxide is around RMB440-450/kg (USD64.52-65.98/kg), almost the same as that in the previous week.
Quotations of cobalt monoxide remain in a wide range from RMB500/kg (USD73.31/kg) to RMB550/kg (USD80.65/kg), but deals are only concluded at around RMB530/kg (USD77.71/kg) and the market is relatively quiet.
The cobalt tetroxide market remains in tight supply at around RMB450-460/kg (USD65.98-67.45/kg), on a par with that of lithium cobalt oxide. However, participants worry that the economic recession in the US may reduce the demand of lithium batteries in the coming months.
Participants are generally pessimistic about the future, believing that the price will probably start to drop in October.
