On the London Metal Exchange, prices of
cobalt metal, used to make alloys for jet
turbine blades, are up nearly 10% since the
start of 2021 at $35,500 a tonne, their highest
level since November 2019.
The government in top cobalt consumer China was advised by state-backed research house Antaike to stockpile metals in the wake of a collapse in commodity prices last year after the coronavirus outbreak, but details of official cobalt purchasing plans have not been made public.
Two cobalt traders said stockpiling was a factor in the latest price spike, with one adding that covid-19-driven logistical disruptions in South Africa were limiting supply.
Most of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo and reaches international markets via South African ports.
In November, Reuters reported that China’s
National Food and Strategic Reserves
Administration would buy 2,000 tonnes of
cobalt in a first round of stockpiling and that a
second round could follow.
CRU analyst George Heppel said on Twitter
the consultancy understood China’s stockpile
r had agreed to buy an additional 3,000 tonne
s, taking the total up to 5,000 tonnes.