LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) - The deficit in the already-tight cobalt market is likely to widen after Canada's Sherritt International S.TO said on Thursday it has suspended direct participation in its Moa joint venture in Cuba, according to traders of the battery metal.

The company said there was no immediate impact on output at its Fort Saskatchewan refinery in Canada, which continues to produce finished nickel and cobalt, as a result of the suspension, which follows a May 1 U.S. executive order expanding sanctions against Cuba.

• Sherritt expects raw material inventories used by the Fort Saskatchewan refinery to last until mid‑June.

• Its Moa joint venture produced 25,240 metric tons of finished nickel and 2,729 tons of finished cobalt in 2025, according to company data.

• Top cobalt producer the Democratic Republic of Congo suspended exports in February last year to support prices, which had dropped to nine-year lows.

• The suspension remained in place until Congo introduced export quotas last October.

• Congo accounts for 72% of global cobalt supplies estimated at nearly 268,000 metric tons last year, according to Darton Commodities.

• Cobalt metal prices OCBc1 have risen 160% since February 2025 to $26 a lb or $57,320 a ton due to shortages created by Congo's export restrictions.