IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from October 29

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 29 that are worth another look.

The decline in Asian hot-rolled coil prices has continued to apply downward pressure on slab prices in the region, sources told Fastmarkets.

The copper market is largely shrugging off the positive price effects of supply constraints and is focusing its attention on the negative consequences on growth of the trade wars, the chief executive officer of Freeport-McMoRan has said.

The London Metal Exchange announced this week that industry members will form a committee to represent the views and interests of lithium stakeholders while the exchange plans the launch of a lithium futures contract.

Indonesian officials said on October 29 that their country’s ban on the export of nickel ore will begin in January 2020, as previously scheduled, once a review of irregular ore exporting practices is concluded.

The European ferro-silicon market backtracked over the past week, erasing recent gains as demand in the region tailed off, while US and Chinese prices both held amid lackluster trading activity.

What to read next
The publication of the following prices was delayed on Tuesday April 30 due to technical issues. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
The Chilean government is pushing ahead with plans for a new copper smelter despite the global smelting crisis, Chile’s minister of mining, Aurora Williams told Fastmarkets, adding that the state will also play a key role in developing the country’s premium lithium assets
Fastmarkets launches MB-NI-0256 nickel low-carbon briquette premium, cif global, $/tonne, on Wednesday May 1.
Fastmarkets will amend its MB-STE-0092 steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Poland, zloty/tonne price assessment on Friday May 3.
Just under two weeks ago, the chair of BHP made a phone call to his counterpart at mining peer Anglo American and set in motion a flurry of activity designed to create the largest copper producer in the world
Ferrous scrap could serve as a linchpin in decarbonizing both the steel and shipping sectors in South Korea, particularly in the short term, while waiting for emerging technologies such as hydrogen-based direct-reduced iron to be commercialized, Fastmarkets heard at a seminar on green steel and circularity