Amendment to Fastmarkets’ publication calendar for cobalt price assessments

After a one month consultation, Fastmarkets has amended the pricing holiday schedule for its standard-grade cobalt and alloy-grade cobalt price assessments for the remainder of 2022 and beyond.

Following the amendment, the pricing holiday schedule for its price assessments for MB-CO-0005 cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam, and MB-CO-0004 cobalt alloy grade, in-whs Rotterdam, will no longer be published on national holidays in England and Wales. They will, however, be published as normal during all working days in the UK, including those between Christmas and New Year.

This is a change from the previous process, under which prices would be rolled over on all national holidays and on the days between Christmas and New Year.

The changes take effect as of Tuesday March 15, 2022.

There is no other change in the specifications of the cobalt standard-grade cobalt and alloy-grade cobalt price assessments.

Fastmarkets’ price assessments for minor metals, ores & alloys and industrial minerals follow the holiday calendar of the country in which the price or the team assessing it is based (the UK, the United States or China). This means that prices assessed by the European team, for instance, will follow the England and Wales national holidays, while prices assessed in Asia will follow Chinese national holidays, and those in the US will follow US national holidays.

The prices for lithium cif China, Japan and South Korea, lithium contract prices, all prices for spodumene, imported charge chrome cif China and Turkish chrome ore cfr China are assessed jointly in London and China, and follow the England and Wales schedule, as in the calendar shown below. They will be assessed as usual on national holidays in China. The price assessments for high-carbon ferro-chrome cif Japan and South Korea follow the China schedule.

The England and Wales national holidays for 2022 can be seen below.

To provide feedback on this amendment, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to these prices, please contact Janie Davies or Dalila Ouerghi by email at: pricing@metalbulletin.com. Please add the subject heading ‘FAO: Davies/Ouerghi, re: Cobalt metal pricing calendar amendment.’

If you have any questions about Fastmarkets’ pricing calendar, please contact Fastmarkets’ global base metals editor Juliet Walsh at juliet.walsh@fastmarkets.com, or Fastmarkets global minor metals, ores & alloys editor Fleur Ritzema at fritzema@fastmarkets.com, or global steel editor Andrew Wells at andrew.wells@fastmarkets.com.

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

Minor metals, Ores, Alloys and Industrial Minerals calendar (UK-based price assessments only)