China Plans Biggest Ever Cobalt Purchases For State Reserves

  • Stockpiling agency could buy around 15,000 tons: sources
  • Critical material is cheapest it has been in nearly five years

Cut cobalt cathodes.

Photographer: Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg
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China is preparing to snap up a record volume of cobalt for its state reserves this year, with prices of the battery material languishing near their lowest levels since 2019.

The National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration — which oversees the country’s official commodities stockpiles — is preparing to buy around 15,000 tons of refined cobalt, according to people familiar with the matter, who declined to be named.