2017 REVIEW: Price differentials cut China cobalt metal imports; exports surge

In the first ten months of 2017, a total of 2,555 tonnes of cobalt were shipped to China, down 23% year on year; meanwhile, exports soared 526% on a yearly basis to 1,903 tonnes, beating export volumes for the whole year in 2016 and in 2015, according to Chinese customs data. Throughout 2016, the Chinese market witnessed a larger-than-ever cobalt trade flow from overseas suppliers due to supply constraints in the local market as a direct result of the China State Reserve Bureau’s (SRB) stockpiling. During late 2015 and early 2016, China’s SRB bought a total 5,000 tonnes of cobalt from Chinese producers – 2,200 tonnes were acquired in two purchases in the fourth quarter of 2015 and the remaining 2,800 tonnes were purchased in February 2016. The imports boom extended into 2017 and reached a peak in February, which...