Monthly futures price of cobalt worldwide 2019-2023

The futures price of cobalt ranged between 28,000 and 82,000 U.S. dollars per metric ton between August 2019 and August 2023. The impact of the COVID-19 crisis can be appreciated between March and July 2020, when cobalt futures prices dropped to around 28,500 U.S. dollars per metric ton. The first significant increase in this figure following the beginning of the pandemic was in August 2020, followed by a generalized increase throughout 2021 to the reach a peak of 81,860 U.S. dollars in March 2022.

Futures vs. Spot prices

Futures prices are delineated in futures contracts, which allow buying or selling a commodity at a predetermined price and date, helping investors forecast the market through futures prices. Almost 30 billion futures contracts were traded worldwide in 2022. In comparison, spot prices indicate the current cost of buying a commodity. For example, the average cobalt spot price in the United States was 31 U.S. dollars per pound in 2022.

Cobalt in battery production

Cobalt is a primary component of producing batteries, particularly lithium-ion batteries, used in various electronic devices, especially electric vehicles (EVs). EV batteries require a specific amount of cobalt, while conventional vehicles do not. With an increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries in EVs as the EV industry advances, the global cobalt market volume is expected to increase continuously by 2025.