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

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

Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau has agreed to buy 96.4% of Siderúrgica Latino-Americana (Silat) shares from Spanish group Hierros Añón for $110.8 million, in a shift from its divestment strategy of the past four years.

Shifting London Metal Exchange zinc and lead prices have dictated premiums this past week, overriding fundamental shortages from key suppliers.

Miner-trader Glencore suspended operations at its Mutanda copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) early this week – a month earlier than previously expected.

The London Metal Exchange’s cash-settled alumina futures contract, which is settled against a basket of prices that includes Fastmarkets’ index, has seen a flurry of activity on the January 2020 prompt date.

Nickel premiums have fallen in the United States over the past week on a year-end push for sales while rates in China are mixed and those in Europe are flat.

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.