The Metal Bulletin news team preview base metals in 2017

Metal Bulletin's price reporters look forward to the major issues and industry trends that face the base metals industry in 2017.

Below are a number of recently published pieces by Metal Bulletin looking forward to the major issues and industry trends that face the base metals industry in 2017. Their regular news and opinions pieces are usually published on the FastMarkets Professional platform as part of our base metals news service. The below news stories are all available on the FastMarkets.com website.

To see our complete news coverage, please click her to take a free trial of FastMarkets Professional. 2017 Metals Preview

Will zinc win popularity contest again or lose to nickel next year?
by Perrine Faye

LME to benefit from volatility surge in ‘structural shift’
By Kathleen Retourne

Japanese aluminium buyers will increase spot exposure in supply contracts
By Ian Walker

Physical trading platforms a new pricing battlefield in China
by Kiki Kang

Copper market preference wavers between benchmark and spot
by Kiki Kang

LME copper longs may tire in Q1; shorting seen as risky
By Kathleen Retourne

Can commodities benefit from China’s real estate curbs?
By Andrea Hotter

Indonesia, Philippines supply issues take centre stage in nickel
by Vivian Teo

Ali premiums could spike again on dwindling availability in Europe
By Jethro Wookey

Zhuzhou makes good on production cuts as Chinese zinc smelters feel the pinch
By Archie Hunter

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What to read next
The proposal would align the index more closely with physically traded volumes in the region, and enable it to adjust to evolving market conditions. This proposal follows an observed widening of the spread between trader and smelter purchase components of the index and is aligned with a majority of market feedback. Additionally, Fastmarkets seeks feedback […]
Until now, aluminium has been hard to move, not hard to find. Global aluminium supply had remained technically intact, even as output was curtailed in parts of the Gulf, inventory buffers were drawn down or repositioned, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted.
Global aluminium producers face heightened uncertainty over power supplies, with oil and gas prices elevated by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets is extending the consultation period for the methodology of several of its black mass payables indicators and prices, and is also proposing changes to the names of CIF South Korea and EWX Europe black mass prices.
Rio Tinto Aluminium is expanding its footprint beyond its historic hydro-powered Canadian base, targeting Europe, Asia and Latin America as part of a deliberate diversification strategy, according to the unit’s chief executive officer.
Fastmarkets has corrected its copper concentrates treatment and refinement charge indices, which were published incorrectly on March 20 2026 due to a technical error.