IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from March 13

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday March 13 that are worth another look.

Moves to enhance electronic trading on the London Metal Exchange are not a back-door attempt to close the ring, Europe’s last open outcry trading floor, the exchange’s chief executive officer said.

The Singapore Exchange has seen a “tremendous uptick” in iron ore futures trading activity due to supply concerns following the deadly breach at one of Vale’s tailings dams earlier this year.

Rusal’s aluminium shipments to the United States are unlikely to reach pre-sanction levels this year, but the Russian aluminium producer does plan an eventual return to those levels.

After the ferro-alloys industry gathered in Hong Kong this week for Fastmarkets’ Asian Ferro-alloys conference, our reporters presented 10 of the key things learned.

Further delays in Codelco’s restart of its Chuquicamata smelter and expectations that China will cut its value-added tax rate from May have prompted a small recovery in Chinese copper premiums, Fastmarkets has learned.

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Fastmarkets proposes to amend the frequency of the publication of several US base metal price assessments to a monthly basis, including MB-PB-0006 lead 99.97% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US; MB-SN-0036 tin 99.85% premium, in-whs Baltimore; MB-SN-0011 tin 99.85% premium, ddp Midwest US; MB-NI-0240 nickel 4x4 cathode premium, delivered Midwest US and MB-NI-0241 nickel briquette premium, delivered Midwest US.
The news that President-elect Donald Trump is considering additional tariffs on goods from China as well as on all products from US trading partners Canada and Mexico has spurred alarm in the US aluminium market at a time that is usually known to be calm.
Unlike most other commodities, cobalt is primarily a by-product – with 60% derived from copper and 38% from nickel – so how will changes in those markets change the picture for cobalt in the coming months following a year of price weakness and oversupply in 2024?
Copper recycling will become increasingly critical as the world transitions to cleaner energy systems, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a special report published early this week.
Fastmarkets proposes to lower the frequency of its assessments for MB-AL-0389 aluminium low-carbon differential P1020A, US Midwest and MB-AL-0390 aluminium low-carbon differential value-added product US Midwest. Fastmarkets also proposes to extend the timing window of these same assessments to include any transaction data concluded within up to 18 months.
Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on its non-ferrous and industrial minerals methodologies, via an open consultation process between October 8 and November 6, 2024. This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process.