Chinese cobalt sulphate prices sink to lowest in over seven years in April

Chinese cobalt sulphate prices hit their lowest levels in over seven years in April as a continued oversupply of cobalt hydroxide weighed on sulphate prices.

Spot prices for Chinese cobalt sulphate declined 5.2% in April to RMB 30,800 ($4,250) per tonnes, hitting their lowest point since Benchmark began tracking prices for the chemical in January 2017.

“The cobalt market remains well oversupplied in 2024 with CMOC’s ramp-up of the Kisanfu Fungurume (KFM) mine last year adding significant tonnage,” said Will Talbot, principal cobalt analyst at Benchmark. “Market participants continue to indicate hydroxide stocks are piling up in warehouses around the world.”

CMOC said earlier this month its cobalt production increased nearly fivefold year-on-year in the first quarter across the KFM and the Tenke Fungurume mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The increase comes at a time when the market is already in a surplus.

In addition to the oversupply, prices also fell in April as cathode makers ended restocking of nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathode inventories, drying up demand.

Could cobalt sulphate prices fall further?

“Cobalt sulphate prices are set to continue their downtrend in the near term as the demand is quite limited and cobalt hydroxide remains greatly oversupplied,” said Nicole Peng, an analyst at Benchmark.

The latest price decline also offset the slight uptick in Chinese cobalt sulphate seen at the end of the first quarter. Prices are now down 3.8% so far this year and have fallen 13.2% year-on-year, according to the Benchmark Cobalt Price Assessment.

Feedstock prices slip lower

Prices for cobalt hydroxide, the most commonly traded cobalt feedstock material, slipped in April. Any further declines would result in prices hitting their lowest levels for the first time since January 2018 when Benchmark began tracking prices for the chemical, according to the Benchmark Cobalt Price Assessment.

CIF Asia cobalt hydroxide prices fell 2.8% to $6.9 per pound ($15,212 per tonne) for the assessment period ended May 2, according to the Benchmark Cobalt Price Assessment. Hydroxide prices are however still up 6.2% so far this year.

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