Cobalt market continues to rise

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 11 Aug 06 – Following one by another, major suppliers of cobalt metal continued to raise cobalt offers to the market. BHP Billiton raised the offer of 99.Asian Metal Copyright “And we did not expect more demand would occur at this time of the year from all over the world.Asian Metal Copyright8%min cobalt cathode to USD16.75/lb; Norilsk raised the offer of 99.Asian Metal CopyrightBEIJING Asian Metal 11 Aug 06 – Following one by another, major suppliers of cobalt metal continued to raise cobalt offers to the market.Asian Metal Copyright3%min cobalt ingot to USD14.10/lb, and Chinese supplier Jinchuan raised quotation to RMB292,000/t in the Chinese domestic market.Asian Metal Copyright75lb; Norilsk raised the offer of 99.Asian Metal Copyright

Some market participants blamed major cobalt suppliers not providing enough material to the market, which caused the short supply of good cobalt material in the spot market. If the situation does not change soon, we will see price rise further.Asian Metal Copyright Normally, the inventory a consumer keeps is for 2-3 months use, and now, as price kept dropping in the last few years, most consumers tends to keep less stocks and buy whenever they feel the stock is low or the market price is low.Asian Metal Copyright

An official from a world leading suppliers told Asian Metal that the above statement is not true. As most manufacturers reduce production in the summer time, cobalt suppliers too only keep low production during the holiday season and the stocks they currently have are not big enough to cover the spot market.Asian Metal Copyright “And we did not expect more demand would occur at this time of the year from all over the world.Asian Metal Copyright “And we did not expect more demand would occur at this time of the year from all over the world.Asian Metal CopyrightBEIJING Asian Metal 11 Aug 06 – Following one by another, major suppliers of cobalt metal continued to raise cobalt offers to the market.Asian Metal Copyright”

The official also claimed that there should not be any panic buying as the production will get back to normal from September.

He believes the reason for people rash to the market making purchase is that the consumers keep fewer inventories nowadays. Normally, the inventory a consumer keeps is for 2-3 months use, and now, as price kept dropping in the last few years, most consumers tends to keep less stocks and buy whenever they feel the stock is low or the market price is low.Asian Metal Copyright” The source takes this is a good opportunity for the cobalt market to recover.Asian Metal Copyright

“And now, they find low on inventories and high prices to replenish raw material.” The source takes this is a good opportunity for the cobalt market to recover.Asian Metal Copyright “And we did not expect more demand would occur at this time of the year from all over the world.Asian Metal Copyright If the consumers continue to buy hand-to-mouth, the market will rise further.Asian Metal Copyright BHP Billiton raised the offer of 99.Asian Metal Copyright

Commenting BHP’s current offer at USD16.75/lb, the source thinks it is still a low price compare to the historical statistics. “I would not be surprised to see the price bounce back to USD20/lb.”