PRICING NOTICE: Increased frequency of cobalt hydroxide payable indicator

From May 1, Fastmarkets will publish the cobalt hydroxide payable indicator every Wednesday and Friday. The frequency increase reflects market feedback and a review of typical data sets that are collected over the course of the week, both of which support the increased frequency.

From this date, Fastmarkets will also publish detailed rationales for the cobalt hydroxide payable indicator. These have been published for cobalt standard-grade, in-whs, $/lb since August 2018, and can be found in the price book section of the website under the “pricing rationale” tab.

The twice weekly assessment will also match Fastmarkets’ current pricing window for cobalt metal, cobalt sulfate and cobalt tetroxide prices in China (assessed on Wednesday and Friday), the latter two being major downstream chemicals that are produced from cobalt hydroxide. Consequently, market participants will be able to look at margins in a more accurate and timely way.

The frequency of publication for the cobalt hydroxide index, 30% Co min, cif China, will remain unchanged. It is published on the last working day of each month. 

The new specifications are listed below, with the new frequency in italics

MB-CO-0021: Cobalt hydroxide payable indicator, min 30% Co, cif China, % payable of Fastmarkets’ standard-grade cobalt price (low end) 
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: 45 days
Unit: % payable of Fastmarkets’ standard-grade cobalt price (low end, $ per lb)
Payment terms: Letter of credit at sight, current and following price month (‘M’ and ‘M+1’)
Publication: Twice weekly, Wednesday and Friday, 3pm London time
Notes: Where the publication day falls on a public holiday in England and Wales, the assessment will be rolled over from previous pricing session.

All historical data relating to the assessment prior to the amendment will remain available in the pricing section of the Fastmarkets website.

To provide feedback on the cobalt hydroxide price assessments, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter, please contact Charlotte Radford and Susan Zou by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading ‘FAO: Charlotte Radford/Susan Zou re: cobalt hydroxide price assessments.’

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