Cautious optimism is creeping back into the cobalt metal market as hedge funds move to physical purchases of the battery metal as prices slump to seven-year lows. With oversupply conditions and slumping electric vehicle demand, the market could soon find balance, given cobalt's critical role in the energy transition toward a net-zero future. According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, Anchorage Capital Advisors and Squarepoint Capital LLP have quietly purchased physical cobalt. Squarepoint has been buying cobalt…