From February 3, Fastmarkets will assess prices for the following two markets on a daily basis:
Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb
Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb

The decision to increase frequency follows an extensive period of market consultation, during which feedback was received indicating that daily pricing would have the benefit of providing greater market transparency while having the capacity to respond more quickly and concisely to market moves when they occur.

This, those who provided feedback said, was provided it did not compromise the robustness and integrity of the price assessment through low liquidity or over-dependence on one or few data contributors.

Various other arguments in favor of and opposed to an increase in frequency were raised during the consultation but were not considered material to the final decision. Click here for detailed analysis of the feedback received as part of the consultation.

Click here for the original consultation notice.

To account for and address market concerns over potentially lower liquidity informing a daily quote versus a twice-weekly quote, the below point of clarification will be added to the methodology for the cobalt price assessments:

“During times of low-liquidity or limited meaningful market activity (i.e. that which is considered to have taken place in competitive market conditions), the price assessments will reflect the relative stability of the market by being stable or little changed.”

All other specifications are unchanged, and will read as follows from February 3.

Cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb
Quality: Min 99.8% cobalt metal; standard specifications of the following brands in original packaging: Katanga cathodes, Chambishi broken cathodes, CTT broken cathodes, Minara briquettes, Ambatovy briquettes, Norilsk grade 1 and grade 2 cut cathodes (production since January 2019)
Quantity: Minimum 1 tonne, maximum 100 tonnes
Location: In-warehouse Rotterdam
Timing: Within 30 days, other terms normalized
Unit: US$ per lb
Payment terms: Cash; other terms normalized
Publication: Daily, Monday to Friday, 3pm London time. Prices will not be assessed on UK public holidays or during UK office closures, dates of which are communicated well in advance.

Cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb
Quality: Min 99.8% cobalt metal; standard specifications of the following brands in original packaging: Nikkelverk cut cathodes, Vale cobalt rounds, SMM cut cathodes, Jinchuan cut cathodes, Jiangsu (KLK) broken cathodes, Sherritt briquettes
Quantity: Minimum 1 tonne, maximum 100 tonnes
Location: In-warehouse Rotterdam
Timing: Within 30 days, other terms normalized
Unit: US$ per lb
Payment terms: Cash; other terms normalized
Publication: Daily, Monday to Friday, 3pm London time. Prices will not be assessed on UK public holidays or during UK office closures, dates of which are communicated well in advance.

All historical data relating to these two price assessments prior to the increase in frequency will remain available in the pricing section of the Fastmarkets MB website.

Call for comments
To provide feedback on these price assessments or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to Fastmarkets’ cobalt price assessments, please contact Charlotte Radford by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading 'FAO: Charlotte Radford, re: cobalt prices.'

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents go to www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology