Last week, the loose supply pattern in the cobalt feedstock sector continued to deepen. In-transit cargoes from the DRC continued to arrive at ports in concentrated volumes, and coupled with the ramp-up of Indonesian MHP capacity, port and social inventories accumulated simultaneously, with selling pressure remaining unabated. The payables for standard-grade cobalt in MHP continued to run at low levels. Smelters showed low acceptance of high-priced feedstock, generally deferred restocking and waited for lower prices, and trading remained sluggish. Against the backdrop of concentrated arrivals of cobalt intermediates, some miners began seeking tolling arrangements with domestic electrolytic cobalt producers to convert feedstock locally into electrolytic cobalt, thereby alleviating inventory and price-decline pressure. Downstream smelting mainly focused on consuming long-term agreement volumes, with weak willingness to make spot purchases, exerting sustained pressure on spot prices.