On January 22, the price of electrolytic cobalt declined Yuan 2,500/t to Yuan 428,227-431,000/tonne from the previous trading day. However, the prices of cobalt sulfate and cobalt chloride continued to be unchanged at Yuan 95,500/t-98,500/t and 115,000-119,000/t respectively.The sustained increase in raw material costs has placed significant production pressure on cobalt sulfate smelters. New offers were generally quoted at around Yuan 97,000/tonne. However, influenced by the recent sharp decline in the futures price of electrolytic cobalt, downstream buyers are widely negotiating for lower prices, with actual transactions still hovering around Yuan 96,000/t.