Cobalt is a hard, lustrous, grey metal with a high melting point (1493°C)

Cobalt is a hard, lustrous, grey metal with a high melting point (1493°C). Cobalt is used mainly in the production of chemicals (58 percent), superalloys for gas turbine blades and jet aircraft engines, special steel, carbides, diamond tools, and magnets. By far, the biggest producer of cobalt is DR Congo (more than 50%) followed by Russia (4%), Australia, the Philippines, and Cuba. Cobalt futures are available for trading on The London Metal Exchange (LME). The standard contact has a size of 1 tonne.

Cobalt futures were hovering above the $80,000 per tonne level in May, their highest since June 2018 and up 16% this year and around amid continued strong demand from the electric vehicle sector. Cobalt, a key element in lithium-ion batteries, benefits from robust growth in rechargeable batteries and energy storage in the light of impressive demand for electric vehicles. On the supply side, cobalt production has been pushed to its limits as any nation producing electronics is a cobalt buyer. On top of that, mounting sanctions on Russia, which account for roughly 4% of the world’s cobalt production, for invading Ukraine intensified concerns over the commodity’s supply.

Cobalt is expected to trade at 83066.00 USD/MT by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate it to trade at 86346.00 in 12 months time.