Cobalt Prices Hit Three-Year High as Covid Forces Factory Closures

A resurgent Covid-19 outbreak in eastern China’s Zhejiang province forced several local cobalt salt companies to suspend production, pushing cobalt prices to a three-year high.

The domestic electrolytic cobalt price jumped 76% this year to 482,500 yuan ($75,766) per ton Wednesday, according to metal information provider Shanghai Metals Market. Cobalt, a bluish-gray metal found in the Earth’s crust, is one of the key components used to make the lithium-ion batteries that power laptop computers, cell phones and electric cars.