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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":729,"relatedVideos":730},112470594193412,"6f1962d0-ad26-4f30-9f7c-7027a59f3378","Cobalt prices stage mild recovery in October as seasonal demand improves","cobalt-prices-stage-mild-recovery-in-october-as-seasonal-demand-improves","article/cobalt-prices-stage-mild-recovery-in-october-as-seasonal-demand-improves",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":559,"content":569,"excerpt":709,"featured":50,"reporter":710,"_editable":714,"component":715,"seo_title":543,"categories":716,"visibility":722,"author_company":49,"featured_image":723,"seo_description":709,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":727,"formattedArticleDate":728},"3171d483-dbc2-4ad2-a0c9-3b7796da7a17","2023-10-20 00:00",[550,553,556],{"slug":551,"name":552},"china","China",{"slug":554,"name":555},"cobalt-prices","Cobalt prices",{"slug":557,"name":558},"electric-vehicles","electric vehicles",[560],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":563},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":564,"image":565,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":566},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":570,"content":571},"doc",[572,579,594,599,604,617,622,631,636,649,661,668,679,684,689,694,699,704],{"type":573,"attrs":574,"content":575},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[576],{"text":577,"type":578},"Cobalt prices staged a mild recovery in recent weeks as small increases in downstream demand due to seasonal buying trends brought a relief to producers after prices hit a floor in early September.","text",{"type":573,"attrs":580,"content":581},{"textAlign":49},[582,584,592],{"text":583,"type":578},"While cobalt prices increased across all grades, CIF Asia cobalt hydroxide rose 3.3% to $17,416 a tonne ($7.9 per pound) between October 1 and 16, according to ",{"text":585,"type":578,"marks":586},"Benchmark’s Cobalt Price Assessment",[587],{"type":588,"attrs":589},"link",{"href":590,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/price-assessments/cobalt/portal/?tab=table","url",{"text":593,"type":578},". ",{"type":573,"attrs":595,"content":596},{"textAlign":49},[597],{"text":598,"type":578},"“Despite the mild recovery, prices are still very close to the floor,” said Roman Aubry, an analyst at Benchmark. ",{"type":573,"attrs":600,"content":601},{"textAlign":49},[602],{"text":603,"type":578},"“Overall, the market is still very bearish on the intermediate to long term, and while we may see some small improvements in the short term, there isn’t an expectation from the market for prices to rise considerably higher anytime soon,” he said. ",{"type":573,"attrs":605,"content":606},{"textAlign":49},[607,609,615],{"text":608,"type":578},"According to Aubry, the cobalt market is ",{"text":610,"type":578,"marks":611},"highly sentiment driven",[612],{"type":588,"attrs":613},{"href":614,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/cobalts-brief-price-rally-ends-as-logistical-constraints-ease-surplus-continues",{"text":616,"type":578},". The recent increases are also linked to the ‘Golden September, Silver October’ period in China when there’s an expectation that customers will increase buying, which could support electric vehicle sales.",{"type":573,"attrs":618,"content":619},{"textAlign":49},[620],{"text":621,"type":578},"China’s New Energy Vehicles sales reached 904,000 in September, an increase of 6.8% on a month-on-month basis, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). Sales are up 27.7% on a year-on-year basis.",{"type":573,"attrs":623,"content":624},{"textAlign":49},[625],{"type":626,"attrs":627},"image",{"id":49,"alt":628,"src":629,"title":49,"source":49,"copyright":49,"meta_data":630},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/c91a11517f/bm-cobalt-hydroxide-prices-ytd-oct-23.png",{},{"type":573,"attrs":632,"content":633},{"textAlign":49},[634],{"text":635,"type":578},"Further, October is considered a pivotal month for cobalt prices as key players in the supply chain revisit contracts for the year, spurring suppliers to push the market up towards the $8 per pound level.",{"type":573,"attrs":637,"content":638},{"textAlign":49},[639,641,647],{"text":640,"type":578},"Other than the occasional short term tightness, the market is expected to remain in a cobalt supply surplus until 2026 before entering a deficit from 2027 onwards, according to ",{"text":642,"type":578,"marks":643},"Benchmark’s Cobalt Forecast",[644],{"type":588,"attrs":645},{"href":646,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/forecasts/cobalt/",{"text":648,"type":578},".",{"type":573,"attrs":650,"content":651},{"textAlign":49},[652,654,660],{"text":653,"type":578},"Cobalt hydroxide prices are now down 34.8% year-to-date and significantly below the highs reached last year, a trend seen in prices for ",{"text":655,"type":578,"marks":656},"most other critical battery materials",[657],{"type":588,"attrs":658},{"href":659,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/3q-roundup-uncertain-demand-hits-battery-mineral-prices",{"text":593,"type":578},{"type":662,"attrs":663,"content":665},"heading",{"level":664,"textAlign":49},4,[666],{"text":667,"type":578},"Cobalt sulphate and oxide prices",{"type":573,"attrs":669,"content":670},{"textAlign":49},[671,673,677],{"text":672,"type":578},"Chinese cobalt sulphate prices reported the smallest rise and increased 1.4% to RMB 37,500 per tonne ($5,069 per tonne) in the first half of October, according to ",{"text":585,"type":578,"marks":674},[675],{"type":588,"attrs":676},{"href":590,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":591},{"text":678,"type":578},". Sulphate prices are still down 27.9% on a year-to-date basis.",{"type":573,"attrs":680,"content":681},{"textAlign":49},[682],{"text":683,"type":578},"Aubry said the increase is also largely seasonal, with improvement in downstream demand just enough to tip the scale slightly to contribute to a price increase for cobalt sulphate.",{"type":573,"attrs":685,"content":686},{"textAlign":49},[687],{"text":688,"type":578},"A majority of battery demand for cobalt comes from nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cathode materials. Buying interest is still underwhelming as NCM cathode makers are opting for moderate inventory building. NCM recovery in China has been smaller than expected resulting in a lower volume of sales. ",{"type":573,"attrs":690,"content":691},{"textAlign":49},[692],{"text":693,"type":578},"Cobalt oxide prices increased by 4% to RMB 155,000 per tonne ($21,235 per tonne) during the period under review. Portal electronic model announcements during the period supported lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cell demand, which is widely used in portable electronics batteries.",{"type":662,"attrs":695,"content":696},{"level":664,"textAlign":49},[697],{"text":698,"type":578},"European metal prices also up",{"type":573,"attrs":700,"content":701},{"textAlign":49},[702],{"text":703,"type":578},"European metal prices also rose, increasing by 5.2% to $15.65 per pound, as tightness in the superalloy market fed through into the wider cobalt metal market. Due to the significant price gaps, some alloy producers are opting to buy some briquettes from producers like Ambatovy and Murrin Murrin, inducing some additional demand for this segment. ",{"type":573,"attrs":705,"content":706},{"textAlign":49},[707],{"text":708,"type":578},"“It has become harder to acquire metal within the briquettes market recently, with companies restricting their supply and Ambatovy going on scheduled maintenance,” said Aubry.","Cobalt prices staged a mild recovery in recent weeks as small increases in downstream demand due to seasonal buying trends brought a relief to producers after prices hit a floor in early September. While cobalt prices increased across all grades, CIF Asia cobalt hydroxide rose 3.3% to $17,416 a tonne ($7.9 per pound) between October […]",[711],{"slug":561,"name":562,"content":712},{"job_title":564,"image":713,"bio":567,"linkedin":568},{"filename":566},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"3171d483-dbc2-4ad2-a0c9-3b7796da7a17\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[717,719],{"slug":718,"name":115},"cobalt",{"slug":720,"name":721},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals","private",{"id":49,"alt":628,"name":628,"focus":628,"title":628,"source":628,"filename":724,"copyright":628,"fieldtype":725,"meta_data":726,"is_external_url":51},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/68652ed2e4/bm-katanga-copper-mine.jpg","asset",{"alt":628,"title":628,"source":628,"copyright":628},"Oct 20, 2023","20th October 2023",[],[],1782840849075]