Cobalt prices surge on China’s stockpiling plan and export ban extension threat

Cobalt futures prices in China jumped more than 9% on Monday fuelled by China's strategic buying of cobalt and talks of extension of export ban from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the top supplier of the battery material.

Prices on China's Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange have surged by 55% since February.

China's National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, which manages official commodities stockpiles, made price inquiries and bidding for the metals, including cobalt, copper, nickel and lithium, Bloomberg News reported last Friday, without details on volumes or timing.

Congo could extend a four-month export ban on cobalt introduced in February following a sharp drop in the metal's price, government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said last Friday.

The world's top producer of cobalt halted the metal's exports in February in a bid to curb a global supply glut and stabilise the market.