IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from October 16

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 16 that are worth another look.

Slab shipments to foreign subsidiaries and affiliates of Russia’s largest steelmaker, Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), fell by 43% year on year in the third quarter of 2019.

A strike kicked off on October 16 at Antofagasta’s Antucoya copper project after workers could not reach an agreement on wage increases with the Chilean miner.

Persisting backwardations in London Metal Exchange forward price spreads continued to pressure global aluminium premiums in the week ended Tuesday October 15, with the benchmark duty-unpaid premium in the Dutch port of Rotterdam softening for the third week in a row.

Manganese ore traders are becoming increasingly cautious about buying seaborne cargoes after suffering severe losses on large positions amid recent price falls.

Physical zinc premiums in Shanghai softened in the week to October 15, with the import loss for bringing zinc into the region widening by just under $100 per tonne since last week; meanwhile a drop in the Northern Europe premium was exacerbated by poor demand and tight forward spreads.

What to read next
Half a million tonnes of copper is sitting in US warehouses, and the traders who put it there are starting to wonder whether they’ve built a hedge, or a trap.
European automotive procurement faces growing complexity due to regional cost volatility and policy-driven supply chains reshaping material pricing and sourcing strategies. This demands granular, region-specific market intelligence for precise cost modeling and strategic decision-making.
The assessment, which currently follows the UK holiday calendar, will follow the Singapore holiday calendar after the proposed change. There will be no change to the publication timing, and the assessment will continue to be published weekly on Wednesdays, at 7pm Singapore time. The purpose of the adjustment is to align the timing to the […]
JX Advanced Metals, Mitsui Kinzoku, Marubeni and Mitsubishi Materials(MMC) inked a deal to integrate MMC's copper concentrate procurement and related products sales business into Pan Pacific Copper (PPC), marking a significant consolidation of Japan's copper concentrate purchasing sector amid persistent pressure from weak treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs).
The publication of Fastmarkets’ assessments of the nickel min 99.8% full plate premium, in-whs Shanghai, and the nickel min 99.8% full plate premium, cif Shanghai for Tuesday May 26 were delayed because of a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated. The following prices were affected:MB-NI-0143 Nickel min 99.8% full plate premium, in-whs Shanghai, […]
Copper producers, including Atlas Mining, reported higher earnings in the first quarter of 2026 on the back of elevated copper prices, while concentrate output declined at several operations in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and the Philippines due to lower ore grades and disruptions, according to company results reviewed by Fastmarkets.