The core reason for the cobalt market's continued weakness yesterday was the double squeeze of weakening cost support and sluggish demand. On the feedstock side, prices of cobalt intermediates continued to slide, and the payables for cobalt content in MHP fell to a historic low, eroding the cost support for cobalt salts. On the supply side, cobalt feedstock from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) arrived at ports in concentrated batches. Combined with the recovery of Indonesian cobalt product supply and increased recycling capacity, this partially offset the feedstock shortage. On the demand side, downstream purchasing sentiment remained cautious, spot trading for cobalt sulfate and cobalt chloride was thin, and most smelters even suspended making quotations. Ternary battery installations fell month on month, electric vehicle (EV) sales declined year on year, and peak-season demand fell short of expectations, further weakening demand support for the cobalt market.