Cobalt price over time2/17/2024 Metal consumers delaying negotiationsĪ very large proportion of the cobalt metal demand from consumers is met under long-term contracts. This was despite numerous disruptions affecting the traditional supply route of cobalt hydroxide from the DRC to China via South Africa. Some market participants have said that they expect the market to be supported firmly in 2023 and beyond, with EV numbers expected to increase to meet global policy targets.įastmarkets research forecasts that cobalt demand should increase to 194,000 tonnes in 2023, from an estimated 177,000 tonnes in 2022.īut total cobalt supply is also forecast to increase, up to 209,000 tonnes from an estimated 182,000 tonnes in 2022, leaving a surplus of 15,000 tonnes.Ĭobalt output from the Democratic Republic of Congo rose by 24% during 2022, according to estimates from Fastmarkets research. One difference in 2022 was that the electric vehicle (EV) sector is more developed from a demand perspective for cobalt than it was in 20. The standard grade price was down by 51% from the year-high on December 30, 2022.įastmarkets assessed the price of cobalt, standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam at $18.75-19.95 per lb on December 30, down by 51% from its 2022 high of $39.75-40.50 per lb on May 3. What followed on those occasions was significant downward price trends, with the price of standard-grade cobalt closing the year down by 68% and 39% respectively from the previous years’ highs. While market fundamentals are different this time, the current direction of price movements almost mirrors those earlier years. Only three times in its recorded price history has cobalt metal broken above $40 per lb. In the second half of the year, fundamentals across the cobalt value chain flipped weak demand following Covid-related lockdowns in China while bearish global macroeconomics pushed prices down steeply. Supply tightness, geopolitics and logistics constraints pushed prices to record highs in the first half of 2022.
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