IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from May 17

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday May 17 that are worth another look.

The United States will give a 180-day window to its auto trading partners to reduce imports of automobiles and certain automobile parts, essentially delaying potential Section 232 tariffs on these products, the White House said on Friday May 17. On the same day, US President Donald Trump announced an agreement had been reached to remove Section 232 tariffs from Canada and Mexico

Copper concentrate treatment and refining charges edged lower in the second week of May, with traders snapping up tender tonnages at low numbers while smelters hesitated on spot purchases.

The European Commission has initiated a review of its steel import safeguard measures, it said in a notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union on May 17.

Rumors that around 1,000 tonnes of bismuth held in Fanya warehouses might be auctioned dampened buying interest in China, causing the domestic Chinese bismuth price to plunge by 4% week on week on Friday.

The Chinese import price for bauxite will continue to rise gradually over the next 5-10 years on stronger domestic demand, Metro Mining chief executive officer Simon Finnis told Fastmarkets at the Alumina & Bauxite Conference held in Zhengzhou on May 16-17.

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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.