Proposal to amend cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam brands

A recent consultation sought feedback on the inclusion of brands into the cobalt standard grade brand list. The feedback received was mixed in its support of adding a powder brand; as a result, Fastmarkets is reopening part of the previous consultation to seek further feedback and clarity on the proposed change.

Due to a limited liquidity pool for cobalt powder, Fastmarkets is unable to conduct adequate historical data analysis of powder brands, and so is seeking further liquidity data to help inform the proposed change.

Cobalt brands and the grades under which they are designated are under constant review by Fastmarkets.

Fastmarkets reviews all pricing data carefully to ensure that its price assessments reflect the open and competitive market level.

Reporters may therefore apply expert judgment to exclude data deemed unrepresentative or unreliable prior to consideration of the final assessment.

The changes to specifications would be as follows, with the proposed new brands in italics:

MB-CO-0005 Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb
Quality: Min 99.8% cobalt metal; standard specifications of the following brands in original packaging: Katanga cathodes, Chambishi broken cathodes, CTT broken cathodes, Minara briquettes, Ambatovy briquettes, Norilsk Grade 1 and Grade 2 cut cathodes (production since January 2019), Sherritt briquettes, Vale Long Harbour standard-grade rounds (99.8% cobalt), Jiangsu (KLK) cut cathodes, Huayou cut cathodes, Greatpower cut cathodes, Hanrui cut cathodes, Lygend cut cathodes, Tengyuan cut cathodes and Umicore S1 powder.
Quantity: Minimum 1 tonne, maximum 100 tonnes
Location: In-warehouse Rotterdam, duty unpaid, customs uncleared
Timing: Within 30 days, other terms normalized
Unit: USD per lb
Payment terms: Cash; other terms normalized
Publication: Daily, Monday to Friday, 3pm London time

This price is part of Fastmarkets’ minor metals package.

The consultation period for this proposed amendment will start on Wednesday April 16 and end on Friday July 4. The outcome of the consultation will be published at a later date.

To provide feedback on this price or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to the cobalt metal price series, please contact Alex Cook by email at pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Alex Cook, re: Cobalt Brand Consultation.”

Please indicate if comments are confidential. Fastmarkets will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request. 

To see all Fastmarkets pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/methodology.