IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from May 8

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday May 8 that are worth another look.

The United States’ anti-dumping duties on imports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Ukraine will remain in place, the Commerce Department said in the final result of its first five-year sunset review of the product.

Rio Tinto is partnering on a project to develop a zero-emission bus made of aluminium, which will be tested in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, next year.

Concerns about Brazilian iron ore supply resurfaced among market participants this past week due to expectations that exports of the product would be impeded by Covid-19-related lockdowns in the South American country and the rising number of infections.

Chile saw a 4.5% year-on-year increase in copper production during March despite some difficulties faced by the industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Chilean copper commission Cochilco said on Thursday May 7.

Prices in Southeast Asia’s steel billet market climbed over the past week due to surging demand from Chinese importers, sources told Fastmarkets.

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The proposal follows Fastmarkets’ observations that the commodity sees inactive spot liquidity and low volatility in prices. The proposed new specifications for the prices are as follows, with the amendments in italics: MB-NI-0246 Nickel sulfate, cif Japan and Korea, $/tonneQuality: Accepted by buyer for use in battery applications with chemical composition: Ni content, base 22.3% […]
Based on preliminary market feedback, market participants noted that smaller-sized spot market transactions may be skewed and not reflective of the wider market. The aluminium P1020A(MJP), cif Japan, assessment specification which has a minimum tonnage of 100 tonnes will be amended to 500 tonnes after the proposed change. The proposed new specifications are as follows, […]
Fastmarkets consulted the market on the proposed change between April 3 and May 11, 2026. Some feedback was received regarding the publication times of nickel pig iron and laterite ore prices. Fastmarkets will adjust the initially proposed publication times accordingly and proceed with the changes. This decision was first proposed in a methodology note published […]
The price assessments were not affected by the incorrect publication and the correct prices are showing on Dashboard. The price was published at 12.33pm London time instead of the scheduled time of 3-4pm. The following prices were published early:MB-CU-0405 Copper grade A cathode premium, in-whs Shanghai, $ per tonneMB-CU-0383 Copper grade A cathode ER premium, bonded in-whs […]
On Wednesday May 6, a critical minerals panel at Commodities Trading Week in London said metals markets are shifting from an energy transition-led narrative toward security of supply, leaving Europe particularly exposed because of its reliance on imports.
The Canadian government announced on Tuesday May 4 a new financing program worth C$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) to help mitigate the effect of US metals tariffs and support several of Canada’s tariffed industries.