Domestic cobalt price rises again

According to the data monitoring of business news agency, this week’s Cobalt market is not continuing, and the rising trend has experienced twists and turns. Since July 7, the cobalt price has been adjusted by shock, and the rising trend of cobalt price has slowed down. On July 13, the cobalt market has ushered in another turning point, and the cobalt price has soared again. As of July 16, the price of cobalt was 376333.34 yuan / ton, up 5200 yuan / ton or 1.39% from 371166.66 yuan / ton on July 13. Short term cobalt prices continue to rise, cobalt Market where to go?

South African unrest disrupts Logistics

The arrest of South Africa’s former President Zuma has triggered many protests and riots. On Monday, July 12, South Africa’s national large-scale protests and demonstrations were launched by the protestors, further escalating the situation. On the evening of 13 local time, a spokesman for the South African Police Department said that the protest had spread in many provinces of South Africa. On July 14, South Africa reported again that the protest had led to the closure of many ports in KwaZulu Natal province and the interruption of high-speed roads from KwaZulu Natal province to various parts of South Africa. The port of Durban, South Africa’s import and export hub and one of the busiest shipping terminals on the African continent, was brought to a standstill because of the protest, but the protest seems to continue to spread.

Affected by the riots caused by the protests in South Africa, some shipping companies in the port of Durban issued a letter of force majeure, saying that they would suspend operation temporarily. In view of the uncertainty of the duration of the force majeure, the re operation time is also to be determined. According to Maersk’s notice, at present, a large number of inland warehouses in Durban have been closed. Due to the lack of staff and equipment, the port terminal in Durban is at a standstill, and the logistics providers suspend their services, resulting in the interruption of import and export. The interruption of logistics in South Africa is bound to affect the transportation of cobalt raw materials, which will stimulate the rise of cobalt price.

Market Overview

Congo (DRC) is the most inland Democratic Republic of Congo, and most of the cobalt mining areas in the world. It mainly transports cobalt through neighboring African ports (mainly including the port of Durban in South Africa and the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania). The unrest in South Africa has brought the port of Durban to a standstill, and the recovery time is yet to be determined.

Bai Jiaxin, data analyst of business news agency, believes that as one of the most important transportation ports of cobalt raw materials, the stagnation of the port of Durban is bound to lead to a sharp decrease in the short-term export of cobalt raw materials, and the tight supply of cobalt raw materials will stimulate the rise of cobalt prices. Due to the long shipping period, the shipping time from South Africa to China is about 1.5-2 months, and there will be no shortage of supply in the domestic cobalt Market in the short term. With the continuous development of turmoil and epidemic situation in South Africa, the risk of shortage of cobalt raw materials is increasing. Meanwhile, the turmoil in South Africa stimulates the search for transportation routes outside South Africa, and the overall risk of supply shortage in cobalt market is limited. Generally speaking, in the short term, the interruption of logistics in South Africa increases the risk of shortage of cobalt raw material supply, and the price of cobalt may rise sharply in the short term; The risk of long-term supply shortage of cobalt raw materials is small, the logistics and transportation costs increase, and the cobalt price is expected to rise slightly.