On January 12, Benchmark Mineral intelligence reported:Ĭobalt starts 2021 with a bang – but does this spell the end of low prices?.The ground was set for a strong start to 2021 with the Chinese State Reserve Bureau (SRB) and its approved Chinese suppliers quietly agreeing a deal to acquire cobalt metal. CRU analyst George Heppel said on Twitter here the consultancy understood China's stockpiler had agreed to buy an additional 3,000 tonnes, taking the total up to 5,000 tonnes. “On top of battery demand, assuming the vaccine programs continue to move from strength to strength, we could also start to see some improving demand from the aviation sector in H2 2021,” Rawles said.Ĭhina cobalt prices leap to 2-year high, focus on stockpiling. “We are continuing to see a delay in the shift to high-nickel (less cobalt-intense) cathodes, which adds to the demand outlook.” Additionally, the firm expects to see further growth from the consumer/portable electronics industry, not just linked to the virus, but also to the ongoing rollout of 5G devices. “ not only as EV sales continue to surge, but due to a number of reasons,” Rawles said. For cobalt, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence expects demand to continue to rise into 2021. Roskill expects global EV sales for the year to increase by 10 to 15 percent year-on-year, with Europe being the largest-growing EV market globally. Demand for cobalt is mainly driven by the EV sector, which had a strong finish in Q4 2020. One Japanese producer commented that the market had been building up to a "radical" reaction in January because of how high Chinese hydroxide prices have risen.Ĭobalt Outlook 2021: demand to rise, higher price environment ahead. Europe's cobalt market is seeing a brisk start to 2021 with prices rising amid high demand from Chinese chemical producers and European traders looking to cash in on a robust demand outlook for the year."The tinderbox was set last year and now it is lighting," a European trader said. More details on cobalt pricing (in particular the more relevant cobalt sulphate), can be found here at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence or Fast Markets MB.Ĭobalt spot prices - 5-year chart - USD 17.12Ĭobalt prices enter 2021 on the rise. LME Cobalt inventory is 427 tonnes, lower than last month's 451 tonnes. Cobalt price newsĪs of January 23, the cobalt spot price has surged higher to US$17.12/lb, from US14.51/lb last month, for an 18% increase. The market news was equally as positive as China began to stockpile cobalt at the same time as surging EV demand is causing increased cobalt demand. The past month saw a surge higher in cobalt prices which led to most cobalt miners stock prices doing very well, an example being Cobalt Blue whose stock price almost tripled from A$0.135 to A$0.385. Welcome to the January 2021 cobalt miner news.
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