The price will no longer be published as an index but as a price range assessed by the reporter.
Market feedback received during the consultation was in support of Fastmarkets implementing these two proposed changes.
The higher frequency will allow Fastmarkets to better capture fluctuations in a liquid market. A range assessment allows Fastmarkets to offer the market a robust pricing mechanism that reflects changing market dynamics.
Reporters may apply expert judgment to exclude data deemed unrepresentative, questionable, or unreliable prior to the final assessment. All discarded data will be explained in the rationale.
The updated specifications of the price are as follows:
MB-CO-0020 cobalt hydroxide 30% Co min, cif China, $/Ib
Quality: Units produced from large-scale mining activity, with the following chemical composition: Co 30% min, Mn 6.5% max, Mg 6.5% max, S 5% max; Cd 100ppm max; limited concentration of natural radioactivity: GB20664-2006 (suitable for customs clearance into China).
Quantity: Min 50 tonnes (cobalt content)
Location: cif China (other terms normalized)
Timing: within 45 days
Unit: USD/lb
Payment terms: Letter of credit at sight, current price month (‘M’)
Publication time: Daily, 2-3pm London time
Fastmarkets will also seek to informally clarify further details on the specifications, including the quality, for this methodology over the coming weeks.
The cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets’ standard-grade cobalt price (low-end) will continue as a twice-weekly published price and is unaffected by these changes.
To provide feedback on this decision, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to the cobalt hydroxide 30% Co min, cif China price, please contact Alex Cook by email at pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Alex Cook, re: Cobalt hydroxide.”
To see all of Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/methodology.
