IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from March 25

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday March 25 that are worth another look.

A motion to undo United States President Donald Trump’s blanket tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium has been denied, the US Court of International Trade (CIT) said in a ruling dated Monday March 25.

A ramp-up in Chinese zinc production is expected to accelerate in the second quarter of this year. This will be driven by the completion of upgrades at smelting facilities across the country and a surge in treatment charges amid a relatively oversupplied raw materials market, sources told Fastmarkets.

Vale’s Brucutu iron ore mine in Brazil will not resume normal operations as early as intended, the Brazilian miner said on Monday March 25.

China’s copper scrap imports dropped by 63% month on month in February and were half the level recorded in February 2018, Chinese customs data released on March 25 showed. 

Fastmarkets AMM hosted its 12th Steel Tube & Pipe Conference in Houston on March 20-21. Our reporters have summarized six key takeaways from the event.

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European steel and aluminium producers have urged the European Commission to take immediate and effective action to tackle "scrap leakage" so that the European Union can meet its sustainable development aims and secure industrial competitiveness.
There has been a freefall in copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) this year amid tighter supply in the market. In 2025, supply tightness is projected to keep copper concentrates TC/RCs low on average for the whole year, sources told Fastmarkets.
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?