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Mid-Nickel",103.5,99.73,3.78,13.78,6.78,[518,519,520,522,524,526,528,530,532,534,536,538],{"date":213,"value":512},{"date":216,"value":513},{"date":219,"value":521},99.19,{"date":222,"value":523},96.02,{"date":225,"value":525},98.23,{"date":467,"value":527},99.24,{"date":329,"value":529},101.29,{"date":339,"value":531},87.61,{"date":341,"value":533},92.44,{"date":344,"value":535},90.96,{"date":347,"value":537},92.24,{"date":350,"value":539},95.09,{"id":541,"uuid":542,"name":543,"slug":544,"full_slug":545,"content":546,"relatedArticles":712,"relatedVideos":713},112472062602171,"57673e07-ebb8-4cf6-850d-feaba363b9de","Cobalt prices down despite bullish start to the year – 2022 in review ","cobalt-prices-down-despite-bullish-start-to-the-year-2022-in-review","article/cobalt-prices-down-despite-bullish-start-to-the-year-2022-in-review",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":553,"content":563,"excerpt":692,"featured":51,"reporter":693,"_editable":697,"component":698,"seo_title":543,"categories":699,"visibility":705,"author_company":49,"featured_image":706,"seo_description":692,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":710,"formattedArticleDate":711},"6a38fa90-797d-4712-83c3-ad5119fd7e11","2022-12-21 00:00",[550],{"slug":551,"name":552},"cobalt-prices","Cobalt prices",[554],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":557},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":558,"image":559,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":560},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":564,"content":565},"doc",[566,573,578,583,588,593,598,605,610,619,624,629,634,639,644,649,654,659,664,669,674,679,684],{"type":567,"attrs":568,"content":569},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[570],{"text":571,"type":572},"Despite a bullish start to the year cobalt prices fell in 2022 as negative sentiment and increased supply weighed on the market.","text",{"type":567,"attrs":574,"content":575},{"textAlign":49},[576],{"text":577,"type":572},"Prices across all cobalt grades assessed by Benchmark reached four-year highs in the first quarter on a robust demand-side outlook from the lithium ion battery sector and rebounding demand from industrial end use sectors. In conjunction with strong demand side fundamentals, limited raw material supply was a further contributing factor in driving prices to their highest level since the 2018 price rally.",{"type":567,"attrs":579,"content":580},{"textAlign":49},[581],{"text":582,"type":572},"Restricted supply stemmed from logistical constraints between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and China, where limited trucking capacity, delayed sea freight, and high pricing for transportation resulted in delays of up to three months for cobalt hydroxide to reach refiners in China. Moreover, strengthening demand from the superalloy sector further helped push cobalt metal prices upwards. ",{"type":567,"attrs":584,"content":585},{"textAlign":49},[586],{"text":587,"type":572},"The bull run was not to last however, as Chinese Covid-19 lockdowns loomed large heading into April. The second quarter saw a shift in market sentiment, with metal prices topping out as they approached the $40/lb mark. ",{"type":567,"attrs":589,"content":590},{"textAlign":49},[591],{"text":592,"type":572},"As Chinese precursor and cathode production was slashed amid factory closures, demand for cobalt sulphate from the lithium ion battery sector quickly diminished as consumers worked through existing inventories at limited pace, pushing prices to retreat for the first time in 2022.",{"type":567,"attrs":594,"content":595},{"textAlign":49},[596],{"text":597,"type":572},"While cobalt sulphate prices were falling on poor battery demand within China, hydroxide and metal prices continued to rally in April, as severe flooding in the KwaZulu Natal Province, South Africa put the port of Durban out of action for a month. ",{"type":599,"attrs":600,"content":602},"heading",{"level":601,"textAlign":49},4,[603],{"text":604,"type":572},"Consistent price falls",{"type":567,"attrs":606,"content":607},{"textAlign":49},[608],{"text":609,"type":572},"Although lockdowns in China were lifted in early-June and mid-stream production resumed, spot demand for cobalt remained tepid, with prices falling consistently month-on-month between April and August, across all grades assessed by Benchmark.",{"type":567,"attrs":611,"content":612},{"textAlign":49},[613],{"type":614,"attrs":615},"image",{"id":49,"alt":616,"src":617,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":618},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/066c1d7227/bm-image-12937418354e.png",{},{"type":567,"attrs":620,"content":621},{"textAlign":49},[622],{"text":623,"type":572},"There were three main contributing factors to these price falls.",{"type":567,"attrs":625,"content":626},{"textAlign":49},[627],{"text":628,"type":572},"Firstly, throughout the first half of 2022 sizable inventories were built up while ongoing lockdowns stunted utilisation rates downstream. Consumers opted to work through existing inventories, rather than purchasing additional material while prices were still falling.",{"type":567,"attrs":630,"content":631},{"textAlign":49},[632],{"text":633,"type":572},"Secondly, alternative sources of raw material further limited demand for hydroxide, with significant volumes of cobalt contained in MHP (mixed hydroxide precipitate) entering the market from burgeoning Indonesian HPAL projects, alongside a rising supply of cobalt via recycling of black mass. ",{"type":567,"attrs":635,"content":636},{"textAlign":49},[637],{"text":638,"type":572},"MHP is emerging as a more desirable intermediate than hydroxide for battery production, given it contains cobalt and nickel at a ratio similar to the nickel-cobalt ratio in battery cathodes. This reduces separation costs, while Indonesia’s proximity to China also reduces shipping costs.",{"type":567,"attrs":640,"content":641},{"textAlign":49},[642],{"text":643,"type":572},"Finally, demand for cobalt from the consumer electronics industry fell by approximately 10% in 2022. Demand had returned to pre-Covid-19 levels and was further limited by macroeconomic headwinds and increasing electronics life cycles. The limited demand created downward pressure prices as, historically, this market has been the largest demand sector for cobalt.  ",{"type":599,"attrs":645,"content":646},{"level":601,"textAlign":49},[647],{"text":648,"type":572},"Brief positivity ",{"type":567,"attrs":650,"content":651},{"textAlign":49},[652],{"text":653,"type":572},"In the third quarter of 2022, the cobalt market briefly saw some positive sentiment, as robust demand from aerospace and military sectors was compounded by perceived alloy grade tightness in the US due to industrial strikes at Glencore’s Nikkelverk refinery.",{"type":567,"attrs":655,"content":656},{"textAlign":49},[657],{"text":658,"type":572},"In general, limited cobalt metal is available in the US, due to the 25% tax on Chinese material and the trade ban with Cuba preventing Sherritt’s material entering the country. As such, when production at Nikkelverk was halted, fears over market tightness arose and metal prices soon increased. ",{"type":567,"attrs":660,"content":661},{"textAlign":49},[662],{"text":663,"type":572},"However, once the strikes ended and market tightness subsided, prices resumed their downward trajectory given the limited demand from the EV and consumer electronics industries.",{"type":567,"attrs":665,"content":666},{"textAlign":49},[667],{"text":668,"type":572},"Spot demand from the EV industry has remained limited, partially driven by cobalt-free and high-nickel, low-cobalt cathodes accounting for a greater share of the market, as cell manufacturers and automakers aim to circumvent the high costs and ESG risks associated with cobalt. ",{"type":567,"attrs":670,"content":671},{"textAlign":49},[672],{"text":673,"type":572},"Consequently, heading into the final quarter, prices continued to retreat on limited spot demand and negative sentiment. In November, cobalt metal and sulphate prices reached their lowest point to date in 2022, falling 42.4% and 51.0% respectively from highs in April and March. ",{"type":567,"attrs":675,"content":676},{"textAlign":49},[677],{"text":678,"type":572},"With few signs of improvement on the demand side and increasing raw material supply from the DRC and Indonesia, the market surplus is anticipated to grow. Although the metal market is anticipated to remain relatively tight given limited planned growth in metal refining, hydroxide and MHP supply is projected to be plentiful. ",{"type":567,"attrs":680,"content":681},{"textAlign":49},[682],{"text":683,"type":572},"Consequently, further downwards price movement in expected heading into the new year.",{"type":567,"attrs":685,"content":686},{"textAlign":49},[687],{"text":688,"type":572,"marks":689},"Cameron Hughes is an analyst at Benchmark.",[690],{"type":691},"italic","Despite a bullish start to the year cobalt prices fell in 2022 as negative sentiment and increased supply weighed on the market. Prices across all cobalt grades assessed by Benchmark reached four-year highs in the first quarter on a robust demand-side outlook from the lithium ion battery sector and rebounding demand from industrial end use […]",[694],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":695},{"job_title":558,"image":696,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},{"filename":560},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"6a38fa90-797d-4712-83c3-ad5119fd7e11\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[700,702],{"slug":701,"name":115},"cobalt",{"slug":703,"name":704},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals","private",{"id":49,"alt":616,"name":616,"focus":616,"title":616,"source":616,"filename":707,"copyright":616,"fieldtype":708,"meta_data":709,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/098f227518/bm-etoile-mine-cobalt.jpg","asset",{"alt":616,"title":616,"source":616,"copyright":616},"Dec 21, 2022","21st December 2022",[],[],1781280283306]