IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from August 26

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday August 26 that are worth another look.

China’s hot-rolled coil prices dropped in both the spot and futures markets on August 26, amid escalating trade tensions between that country and the United States.

While the major Chinese stainless steel mills are expected to release their September tender prices for domestic ferro-chrome this week, the majority of market participants expect a price increase in near future tenders, including for September, Fastmarkets understands.

Brazilian aluminium producer Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA) has signed an agreement to buy Arconic’s operations in Itapissuma, in Brazil’s northeastern state of Pernambuco, for $50 million, CBA announced on August 26.

Glencore AG has provided a $5-million loan facility to First Cobalt Corp to complete work associated with a recommissioning and expansion of its refinery in Canada.

China’s imports of copper scrap totaled 130,000 tonnes in July, down by 39.3% from the same month last year, according to the latest Chinese customs data.

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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.