IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from July 20

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday July 20 that are worth another look.

Steel products output in Ukraine reduced by 4.6% year on year in January-June 2020 to 9.03 million tonnes, according to a report published by national steel union Ukrmetallurgprom on Thursday July 16.

Brazilian copper and brass products manufacturer Termomecanica is set to take its internationalization plans further and to increase the focus on its recent investment in the aluminium business, while its chief executive officer of 22 years hands over to its former industrial operations director.

Mexico’s federal government will not cancel a $200 million debt owed to public authorities if Grupo Villacero goes ahead with the acquisition of domestic steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (Ahmsa), Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in a press conference on Friday July 17.

Cobalt metal is trading at the time of publication in mid-July at prices around an 11-month low since breaking through a price floor just above $15 per lb that had been set in December 2019.

Low and high-grade manganese ore prices in the Chinese seaborne market continued to extend losses in the week to July 17, despite the fact that the lower-than-expected offer prices for August shipments provoked improved liquidity, Fastmarkets understands.

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US export controls on recycled copper would have unintended consequences that could weaken the country’s domestic recycling and manufacturing ecosystems, the president of the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA) said.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ assessments for nickel 4x4 cathode, nickel briquette and nickel uncut cathode premiums in-whs Rotterdam was delayed on Tuesday July 16 because of a reporter error.
Fastmarkets has corrected its alumina index inferred prices, which were published incorrectly on Tuesday July 15.
The United States' copper recycling industry is ramping up pressure on policymakers to impose some form of export controls on high-purity copper scrap, arguing that current trade dynamics – particularly with China – are distorting prices, weakening domestic capacity and undermining national security goals.
Fastmarkets launched two new price assessments for Indonesia’s domestic trade in nickel ore on Tuesday July 15. The two price assessments are for domestic trades of Indonesian laterite ores with 1.6% and 1.2% nickel content. Indonesia now accounts for 60% of the global nickel supplies and while there is an official government reference price, known […]
US copper scrap market participants are shifting from COMEX to LME pricing in response to extreme price volatility and a new 50% copper import tariff. The change is influencing discount formulas, export strategies and long-term trading dynamics across the sector.