IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from January 9

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday January 9 that are worth another look.

The World Trade Organization has made a final ruling that the Moroccan authorities violated parts of the WTO’s Anti-Dumping Agreement in its imposition of tariffs on hot-rolled coil imports from Turkey.

Mining and trading company Mitsui is ceasing copper concentrate blending in South Korea, an indication that grades and arsenic levels are improving at copper mines where it holds stakes, Fastmarkets understands.

Canadian spodumene producer Nemaska Lithium’s filing for bankruptcy protection could be a bellwether moment for spodumene producers searching for capital while lithium prices continue to fall, making upstream investment seem unattractive, market sources have told Fastmarkets.

Last year appeared to be a challenging period for Chinese exporters of ferro-silicon, with China-origin shipments in the first eleven months declining sharply amid strong competition from Russian and Malaysian suppliers.

A second auction for the 3,609.5 tonnes of indium once held by the defunct Fanya Metal Exchange has been scheduled for January 17, according to an official notice published via the Alibaba judicial online platform on January 9.

What to read next
The publication of Fastmarkets’ Shanghai copper premiums on Monday December 23 were delayed because of a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
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.