Tight export controls out of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) added tailwinds to cobalt prices in Q3, prompting market watchers to anticipate a shift from oversupply to balance in the coming months. After starting the year at lows unseen since 2016 (US$21,502 per metric ton), cobalt began to rebound in Q2. Prices for the metal then flatlined in the US$33,300 to US$37,000 range from the end of March through September, but a sharp rally in late October sent values to US$47,110, a level last reached in January 2023. Cobalt price, October 25, 2024, to October 23, 2025. Chart via Trading Economics. Much of the cobalt story this year has been dominated by the February export suspension out of the DRC, which supplies roughly three-quarters of the world’s cobalt. The initial curtailment was expected to last four months in an effort to rein in oversupply and stem a price plunge…
