Benchmark launches daily cobalt metal price to bring transparency amid heightened volatility

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has expanded its cobalt coverage with the launch of a daily cobalt metal price, providing the market with a transparent and transaction-based reference during a period of exceptional volatility.

The new daily assessment complements Benchmark's existing daily cobalt hydroxide price, giving industry participants visibility across both the physical metal and feedstock markets every trading day.

The move comes as cobalt markets experience their most turbulent period in years. Rapid price swings, compounded by the introduction of DRC export quotas, uneven inventory distribution in China, and heightened speculative activity, have created significant uncertainty around fair value and pricing mechanisms.

Benchmark’s cobalt metal and hydroxide indices rely exclusively on confirmed transactions, rather than bids, offers, or sentiment-driven inputs, ensuring that assessments reflect actual market activity and removing the influence of price noise. “The goal is to rebuild confidence and give market participants a price they can trade and hedge against with trust,” said Daniel Fletcher-Manuel, Director of Indexing & Derivatives at Benchmark.

"We have already seen several major market participants move away from sentiment based legacy pricing mechanisms in cobalt hydroxide, favouring Benchmark's transaction-based methodology, and we're excited to provide the same degree of trust and transparency for cobalt metal markets."

Industry participants have expressed growing concern about the reliability of traditional benchmarks following recent market disruption. Benchmark's daily prices are designed to support the cobalt supply chain with clarity, precision, and independence – allowing producers, refiners, and traders to identify cross-market arbitrage opportunities and manage risk more effectively.

“Benchmark’s move to release daily cobalt metal prices comes at a crucial time,” said George Ingall, Pricing Analyst at Benchmark.

“The traditional linkage between cobalt hydroxide and metal prices has weakened significantly since 2022, with each responding largely to their own distinct supply-demand fundamentals. As the DRC quota continues to shape hydroxide availability and metal demand tightens, accurate and reliable daily price reporting is essential for managing arbitrage positions and for reassessing procurement strategies.”

Benchmark will continue to expand its cobalt pricing coverage as the market evolves, maintaining its commitment to transparent, data-driven assessments that reflect real trading activity rather than sentiment in volatile markets.

From Monday 24 November, Benchmark (BMI) futures contracts for lithium and cobalt go live on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). To learn more about Benchmark’s price assessments fill in the form below: