Cobalt prices reached a four year high and 2022 peak of US$82,000 per metric ton (MT) last May, but have fallen since then due to a supply/demand disparity. The metal is now sitting at US$33,420, up from its 2023 low of US$29,525.
While overall demand is still up compared to Q1 of last year, supply also saw a big increase in 2022.
“Since the market has been, and indeed still is, fundamentally in oversupply, we had considered price erosion in Q2 to be inevitable,” Roman Aubry of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence told the Investing News Network after Q2. “However, a slight rebound in midstream demand from the battery industry in June and severe logistical constraints stemming the flow of product out of the Democratic Republic of Congo helped to establish a floor by mid-June, enabling a firm correction towards the end of the quarter.”
While the Democratic Republic of Congo is the top cobalt-producing nation by a long shot, many…
