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

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday January 27 that are worth another look.

The Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium imports into the United States will be applied to select downstream steel and aluminium products, President Donald Trump announced late on Friday January 24.

The discount for copper scrap imported into China has narrowed in January with the level expected to remain flat until the scrap renaming policy takes effect in July.

Greek authorities will liquidate majority-state-owned multi-metal miner Larco, one of Europe’s largest ferro-nickel producers, before selling off assets to investors, the country’s energy minister Kostis Hatzidakis said on January 27.

UG2 chrome ore prices cif China were steady in the week ended Friday January 24, with trading activity stalled during the Chinese new year holiday, which has been extended to February 2 amid health concerns over the spread of a coronavirus infection.

Vital Materials’ purchase of 3,609 tonnes of indium removes the last of the minor metal supplies once held in the now defunct Fanya Metal Exchange, which enables the company to lock in several years of indium supplies from its own “surface mine” and at low prices by historical standards.

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.