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Trading of the cobalt metal contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange surpassed 40,000 lots in January-November 2025 — a new record — according to the latest data from the exchange.
The contract, based on a Fastmarkets price, launched five years ago, on December 14, 2020, and has grown since its launch, recording one of the highest volume weeks in its history in the run up to the anniversary.
The contract, which settles against the mid-point of Fastmarkets’ benchmark standard-grade cobalt metal assessment, quickly became a focal point for the industry, reporting renewed interest throughout a volatile period for cobalt.
Currently, open interest stands just shy of 16,000 lots, with over 7,300 lots of volume trading since the start of November to date.
Since the CME contract began, cobalt has experienced large changes to its supply and demand statistics, with the price broaching $40 per lb in mid 2022 before falling to $9.50 per lb in early 2025, with market participants making use of the financially-settled contracts to hedge and trade the uncertainty.
“In the five years since we launched our cobalt futures contract, we’ve expanded our battery metal suite to include both cobalt and lithium futures and options, providing price discovery and risk management for the battery raw material supply chain. Our market has grown to include a vibrant community of different clients, leading to a fifth consecutive record year in 2025,” Jin Hennig, managing director and global head of metals at CME Group, told Fastmarkets.
Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers have looked to Fastmarkets’ cobalt derivative contracts to hedge their battery purchasing schedules for EV production, with the CME contracts currently stretching out to December 2029.
“Over the past half decade, the cobalt contract has continued to grow from strength to strength, providing a usable financial hedging instrument for the global market, underpinned by Fastmarkets’ benchmark cobalt price. As uncertainty and volatility continue to dominate the market, we are happy to see that customers are increasingly turning to the CME cobalt contract to manage their price risk,” Przemek Koralewski, global head of market development at Fastmarkets, said.
In 2025, the contract has twice had over 1,000 lots trade in a session, with a new record also set for the largest block trade in its history earlier this month.
“The contracts have been incredibly useful for physical players, allowing the industry to hedge a product that historically has been exposed to major boom and bust cycles,” one trader said.
These figures have come amid the market grappling since February with the export suspension from largest country producer of cobalt, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which accounts for an estimated 77% of global production, according to Fastmarkets analysts.
Increased volatility was reported during the beginning of this period, with market participants seeking to reposition in light of the market changes as prices rallied.
The CME cobalt metal futures forward curve remains in a firm contango next year, with the January contract last settling at $26.30 per lb on Friday December 12, while the December 2025 contract settled at $24.26 per lb.
Fastmarkets assessed cobalt standard grade, in-whs Rotterdam at $23.75-24.90 per lb on Monday December 15, flat from the previous assessment on Friday but up from $23.70-24.85 per lb on Thursday December 11.
Options contracts are also available against the cobalt contract for market participants, as a method of providing flexibility for hedging exposure.
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