On January 30, the price of electrolytic cobalt declined Yuan 6,886/t to Yuan 435,955-438,455/tonne from the previous trading day. In addition, the prices of cobalt sulfate and cobalt chloride continued to remain stable at Yuan 95,500/t-98,500/t and 115,000-119,000/t respectively. Despite weakening downstream procurement interest ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday, cobalt sulfate prices remained firm and proned to upward rather than downward movement, underpinned by robust raw material costs. Cobalt sulfate producers kept their offers steady, with mainstream prices for new cobalt sulfate quoted around Yuan 96,000/tonne, while older inventory was priced near Yuan 93,000-94,000/t. The current price levels diverge significantly from sellers’ expectations, leading to a stalemate between buyers and sellers and resulting in sparse market transactions.