World’s top producer of metal used in electric vehicle batteries moves to counteract ‘overabundance of supply’

Cobalt stocks rose in China on Tuesday as a surprise export ban in the Democratic Republic of Congo lifted the near-term outlook for the material used in alloys and batteries.

The Democratic Republic of Congo, the world's top producer of cobalt, said on Monday it has temporarily halted the metal's exports to limit its flow on the market because it says it is over-supplied.

An unknown illness has killed over 50 people in northwestern Congo, according to doctors on the ground and the World Health Organization on Monday. The interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been 48 hours in the majority of cases,

The latest disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began on Jan. 21, and 419 cases have been recorded including 53 deaths.

At least 50 people have died from an unknown disease in northwest Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC. Local authorities reported on Monday that over 943 cases of fever of unknown origin have been identified in Basankusu in the DRC’s Equateur Province since February 9,