IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from February 27

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday February 27 that are worth another look.

A vessel contracted by Brazil-based miner Vale is grounded off the coast of the country’s north-eastern Maranhão state, having suffered damage after leaving the Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal earlier this week.

Growing Chinese copper output and an imbalance in trade terms between China and the west have led to a rising need for the European copper industry to guard its interests, panelists at Fastmarkets’ International Copper Conference in Amsterdam said on February 27.

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in South Korea, the largest export market for Chinese stainless steel, is likely to apply additional pressure on stainless steel prices in Asia, sources told Fastmarkets this week.

The Chinese domestic price for silico-manganese has drifted downward significantly in recent assessments because some alloy smelters reduced their offer prices to attract buying interest and generate cash amid the sluggish demand circumstances created by the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus, market participants have told Fastmarkets.

The Chinese cobalt sulfate price softened in Fastmarkets’ midweek assessment after some suppliers cut their offers to lock in profits amid concerns of a waning market in March.

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After a consultation, Fastmarkets is increasing the publication frequency of its non-exchange-deliverable equivalent-grade (EQ) copper cathode premium, CIF Shanghai, from once a week to twice a week.
New plans to introduce block trades for bilaterally negotiated transactions on the London Metal Exchange are aimed at enhancing liquidity and transparency without harming the exchange’s core physical user base, chief executive officer Matthew Chamberlain told Fastmarkets.
The London Metal Exchange has unveiled a series of proposals which, if successful, could accomplish what it failed to achieve close to a decade ago: bringing the investment community into the fold.
The primary aluminium premium for duty-unpaid units in Rotterdam edged higher in the week to Tuesday September 3, while the wider European market found continued support from high replacement costs and tight nearby inventories despite slow consumer demand.
Market participants are converging on Bali in Indonesia for the Fastmarkets International Critical Minerals & Metals Summit (ICMMS) on September 5 and 6, so ahead of the event, we capture the main themes facing the global nickel market.
Fastmarkets has amended the MB-NI-0256 nickel low-carbon briquette premium, cif global to include all shapes of exchange deliverable Class 1 nickel metal.