Cobalt market participants at the recent Antaike Nickel and Cobalt Forum (13–15 October) and LME Week (19–23 October) events in China and London respectively have uniformly reported weak pricing sentiment. This is driven by soft LCO demand and large stocks of cobalt sulphate, precursor cathode active material (pCAM) and recycled material in China. Huayou, Greatpower, Tengyuan and CTT have halted metal production, while Greatpower’s salt line is running at only 20% utilisation.

George Whitcombe, Senior EV Analyst, Benchmark; Matthew Bird, Senior Editor, Benchmark

Chinese nickel producers in Indonesia were reported on 22 October to have agreed to halve their output of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) and to cut output of nickel pig iron (NPI), the main nickel feedstock for stainless steel, by a fifth until the end of 2026. The rumours have not been confirmed by Benchmark, and Benchmark’s analysis of cost structures indicates cuts – if they do happen – may be smaller than reported.

Adam Panayi , Chief Research Officer , Benchmark Mineral Intelligence