By Karan Kumar — Exclusive to Cobalt Investing News

Western cobalt prices rose slightly this week, with cobalt 99.3 and 99.6 percent trading between $14.25 and $15.25 a pound, and 99.8 percent trading at $14.80 a pound as of April 25, Metal-Pages reported. Prices for cobalt, which is typically a by-product of nickel or copper mining, are below levels seen in October of last year, when both 99.3 and 99.6 percent were trading upwards of $16 a pound.

The Cobalt Development Institute said this week that total global refined cobalt supply in 2011 rose around four percent to 82,247 tonnes from 79,262 tonnes in 2010, Platts reported. Global apparent consumption appears to be around 75,000 tonnes for 2011, an increase of around 15 percent on 2010.

London Metal Exchange minor metals prices, which include cobalt, have eased this week as investor worries about Europe’s debt problems have increased amid political uncertainty and bleak economic data. In addition to economic worries, the cobalt market is in a state of oversupply that is pressuring prices downward and is expected to last at least until 2016.