A bright road ahead for cobalt…but beware of bumps

While we have been positive on the prospects for cobalt prices for some time now, we think that the most recent rally is overdone. Admittedly, the market is tightening. But, in our view, the move-up in prices to the highest level since November 2008 has been exaggerated by speculative activity in anticipation of strong demand from the battery sector. In this Metals Watch, we take an in-depth look at the most recent developments in the cobalt market and discuss the outlook for prices in 2017 and beyond. Sustained growth in supply has seen cobalt prices fall sharply over the past ten years, despite strong end-user demand. However, after dropping to a low of $21,648 per tonne in February 2016, the price of cobalt has since skyrocketed to reach an eight-year high of $51,250 at the beginning of March.