Key data from the Wednesday February 20 pricing session in Shanghai.-The domestic Chinese cobalt metal price trended lower midweek due to thin spot activity following the Chinese New Year holiday on February 4-10 as well as lower offers from some suppliers who were trying to offload stocks.-Mainstream offers and sales for Jinchuan-brand cobalt were around 290,000 yuan ($43,147) per tonne, while small-scale deals and offers for Jinchuan material were heard at lower levels as a result of destocking.-Market participants expect the cobalt metal price slide to slow or be capped next week as a result of consumer restocking.-Imported cobalt metals, such as Chambishi brand, were offered at around 320,000 yuan per tonne but spot buying appetite was limited.-Chinese import traders are standing on the sidelines despite a positive arbitrage. The theoretical import profit stood at 14,173 yuan per tonne based on the low end of Fastmarkets MB's Chinese domestic cobalt metal and standard-grade cobalt metal assessment on February 20 before import tax, according to Fastmarkets' calculation.
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