Last week, the spot price of cobalt intermediates remained firm within the high range of USD $25.626.0 per pound. However, this trend primarily reflects suppliers' efforts to maintain prices amid raw material shortages, as cost pressures are difficult to pass downstream users. Smelters continued to face elevated production costs, while demand remained subdued ahead of the Spring Festival holiday. Consequently, market transactions remained limited. Furthermore, large-scale shipments of cobalt intermediates from the Democratic Republic of the Congo are not expected to arrive until April-May, meaning structural tightness in supply is unlikely to ease before then. In the short term, as more smelters enter pre-holiday production shutdowns, procurement willingness is weakening. Cobalt intermediates prices are expected to remain elevated but stagnant in the near term, with genuine supply-demand dynamics likely to unfold only after the holiday, as operations resume and clarity improves regard