Cobalt Market Update (June 20, 2012)

So far western cobalt prices have traded lower in June compared to May, data from Metal-Pages shows. Cobalt 99.3 percent averaged $13.55 per pound on the low side and $14.38 per pound on the high side until June 14, compared with an average low of $13.99 per pound and a high of $14.90 per pound in May.

Cobalt 99.6 percent showed the same average price as 99.3 percent for May and June. Cobalt 99.8 percent, used for aerospace applications, averaged $14.13 a pound on the low side and $15.03 a pound on the high side until June 14. That was below the May average low of $14.63 a pound and high of $15.58 a pound.

Prices for all three types of cobalt are below levels seen in February of this year, when all three grades were trading above $15.50 a pound.

On the London Metal Exchange, cobalt prices for a three-month buyer fell from $30,000 a tonne in mid-June to $29,000 a tonne on June 18. While prices rose slightly before the Greek election, initial optimism over a slim win for the pro-bailout parties soon gave way to concerns over Italy and Spain, whose ten-year bond yields rose a record 7 percent despite what is seen as a positive result in Greece.

“[T]he Greek election does not address issues in Spain and Italy,” Fairfax’s John Meyer said in a note. “EU policy makers must move swiftly towards further integration. Talk of project bonds will not suffice. Plans must be floated for debt sharing schemes across the Eurozone in one shape or another.”