On December 1, the price of electrolytic cobalt moved up Yuan 5,666/t to Yuan 410,444-412,000/tonne from the previous trading day. Moreover, the prices of cobalt sulfate and cobalt chloride were unchanged at Yuan 86,000-93,000/tonne and 103,000-110,000/tonne respectively. Recently, downstream demand has been relatively sluggish, primarily due to persistently high prices of cobalt intermediates. Cobalt salt smelters were also finding it difficult to lower their prices, keeping cobalt sulfate quotations elevated. At the same time, most downstream users have short-term inventory on hand. However, toward the end of the last week, electrolytic cobalt prices rose, leading to a slight increase in market inquiry activity. Nevertheless, buyers continued to prioritize low-cost purchases, putting pressure on cobalt salt plants to sell their products. Both buyers and sellers were in a tug-of-war.