Cobalt traded flat at 48,570 USD/T on November 27, 2025. Over the past month, Cobalt's price has remained flat, but it is still 99.88% higher than a year ago, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Cobalt - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on December of 2025.

View monthly updates and historical trends for US Cobalt Spot Price. Source: International Monetary Fund. Track economic data with YCharts analytics.

The futures price of cobalt ranged between ****** and ****** U.S. dollars per metric ton between August 2019 and May 2024. The impact of the COVID-19 crisis can be appreciated between March and July 2020, when cobalt futures prices dropped to around ****** 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 ****** 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 ** 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 ** 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.

In 2024, the average spot price of cobalt cathode in the U.S. stood at an estimated ** U.S. dollars per pound. That was a slight decrease compared to the previous year's spot price, which was **** U.S. dollars per pound. While cobalt spot prices have been on the rise in many recent years, they are still lower than in 2018, when the cobalt spot price reached a high of ***** U.S. dollars per pound. Cobalt prices Due to market surpluses of cobalt, prices of the mineral commodity have decreased compared to 2022. In 2022, the annual average global price for one metric ton of cobalt amounted to ****** U.S. dollars, while it is expected to decrease to ****** U.S. dollars per metric ton in 2024. The cobalt futures price as of February 2024 stood at ****** U.S. dollars per metric ton. Cobalt in the United States The largest share of cobalt consumption in the United States is attributable to superalloys, followed by chemical and ceramic uses, then steel alloys, and finally cemented carbides. Since the U.S. has only one domestic cobalt mine that opened in 2022, domestic demand is partially met through imports. Between 2019 and 2022, Norway was the largest supplier of cobalt imports to the United States. As of 2021, cobalt in its metal form had the highest value out of all cobalt imports to the United States.

One metric ton of cobalt cost ****** U.S. dollars in 2022. Industry analysts forecast that the global cobalt price will decrease to less than ****** U.S. dollars per metric ton in 2023 due to a market surplus.

Zambia Commodity Prices: Cobalt data was reported at 60,402.170 USD/Tonne in Oct 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 62,912.500 USD/Tonne for Sep 2018. Zambia Commodity Prices: Cobalt data is updated monthly, averaging 28,040.914 USD/Tonne from Jan 2013 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 70 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 90,887.500 USD/Tonne in Apr 2018 and a record low of 17,945.631 USD/Tonne in Mar 2013. Zambia Commodity Prices: Cobalt data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Bank of Zambia. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Zambia – Table ZM.P001: Commodity Price.

Monthly and long-term cobalt price data (US$/mt): historical series and analyst forecasts curated by FocusEconomics.

In the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, the average price of cobalt metal worldwide amounted to ****** U.S. dollars per metric ton. That was the highest cobalt metal price observed during the period of consideration.

Explore the complexities of the 2023 cobalt hydroxide market, impacted by post-pandemic supply chain issues, rising demand from electric vehicle production, and regulatory pressures. This article delves into the fluctuating prices driven by geopolitical influences, technological advancements, and global trade dynamics.

In July 2022, the cobalt price per ton amounted to $64.3K (FOB, Canada), with a decrease of -21.1% against the previous month.

The average cobalt import price stood at $32,739 per ton in May 2025, rising by 9.9% against the previous month.

Nickel fell to 14,879.88 USD/T on December 3, 2025, down 0.20% from the previous day. Over the past month, Nickel's price has fallen 1.20%, and is down 7.47% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Nickel - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on December of 2025.

The average cobalt export price stood at $6,000 per ton in January 2025, standing approximately at the previous month.

Lithium rose to 94,400 CNY/T on December 2, 2025, up 0.05% from the previous day. Over the past month, Lithium's price has risen 16.54%, and is up 20.64% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Lithium - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on December of 2025.

In February 2025, the average cobalt import price amounted to $178K per ton, growing by 88% against the previous month.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has the largest cobalt reserves in the world, at some *********** metric tons as of 2024. With the world's total cobalt reserves amounting to ********** metric tons that year, the DR Congo accounted for more than **** of the worldwide reserves of the metal. This was followed by Australia, which held an impressive *********** metric tons of the global cobalt reserves in 2024. Cobalt: coveted, yet not so rare Although cobalt is not especially rare – ranking 32nd in global abundance among metals – it has become an increasingly important commodity due to its use in batteries, as well as in alloys, chemicals and ceramics, cemented carbides, and more. It is forecast that in 2040, the global cobalt demand for use in batteries will amount to ******* tons, up from ****** metric tons in recent years. Cobalt's use in batteries applies particularly to the batteries of electric cars which have transformed the demand for this metal; in 2024 the price of cobalt stood at ** U.S. dollars per pound. U.S. cobalt consumption The United States used some ***** metric tons of cobalt in 2023, based on apparent consumption. Cobalt supply in the North American country is achieved primarily through imports and scrap materials. Most of the country's consumption of this metal is destined to the production of superalloys, followed by chemical and ceramic uses.

Molybdenum traded flat at 455.50 CNY/Kg on November 28, 2025. Over the past month, Molybdenum's price has fallen 8.99%, and is down 4.11% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks the benchmark market for this commodity. Molybdenum - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on December of 2025.

In February 2025, the average cobalt import price amounted to $4,676 per ton, shrinking by -3.5% against the previous month.

In March 2025, the average cobalt import price amounted to $16,505 per ton, falling by -3.5% against the previous month.

Durable catalysts based on abundant metals are needed for the photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (PCO2RR). Thus, we synthesized a series of low-valent cobalt(I) complexes, [(CNC)Co(CO)2]+[Co(CO)4]−, with H (1Co‑) or OMe (2Co‑) in the 4-position of the pyridyl N donor group (where CNC = L1 and L2 from double deprotonation of the [CNC]2+ preligands L1(HOTf)2 = 1,1′-(pyridine-2,6-diyl)bis(3-methyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium) ditriflate and L2(HOTf)2 = 1,1′-(4-methoxypyridine-2,6-diyl)bis(3-methyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium) ditriflate). Anion exchange for [BArF24]− (tetrakis(3,5-trifluoromethyl)phenyl)borate) produced 1 and 2 and phosphine substitution produced 1PMe3, 1PPh3, and 2PPh3 complexes with the structure [(CNC)Co(CO)(PR′3)]+[BArF24]−. In 1DPPP, the DPPP ligand bridges two Co(I) centers (DPPP = 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane). All complexes were fully characterized, and electrochemical measurements suggest that for most of the phosphine complexes, CO2 binding by the complex occurs prior to reduction due to a vacant coordination site. Intriguingly, the introduction of a phosphine ligand resulted in a geometry change from trigonal bipyramidal to square pyramidal which correlates to preassociation of CO2 to the complex and higher reactivity in the PCO2RR. Complexes 1, 1PMe3, 1PPh3, 1DPPP, 2, 2PPh3, and Na[Co(CO)4] are PCO2RR catalysts with a methoxy substituent deactivating and a phosphine ligand activating. With monodentate phosphines, catalyst 1PPh3 (1 μM) had the highest turnover frequency (TOFM = 3.9 h–1) and turnover number (TON = 199). The dinuclear 1DPPP complex was the most active and robust catalyst with TON = 278 and TOF = 21.1 h–1 at 1 μM loading. Under dilute conditions (1 nM), 1PPh3 produced up to 36,000 TON with TOF = ∼800 h–1 over 6 days, which shows that this is a durable molecular catalyst acting with fast rates in the PCO2RR. Thus, stabilizing low-valent cobalt can offer a unique entry point to highly active PCO2RR catalysts. While cobalt(I) has been proposed as a catalytic species, catalysts that start from Co(I) have not been made previously and the use of phosphine co-ligands has allowed these catalysts to achieve high activity.