IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from September 18

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday September 18 that are worth another look.

China has issued its 12th batch of non-ferrous scrap metal import quotas for 2020, with a much larger volume of copper scrap being approved to enter the country than in the previous two rounds of quotas. The latest batch permits 136,335 tonnes of copper scrap to be imported into China, the China Solid Waste & Chemicals Management Bureau said on Thursday September 17.

Most trade associations reacted positively to the surprise announcement on Tuesday September 15 that the United States was removing tariffs on aluminium imported from Canada, but some took issue with the quota system that has taken its place.

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Economy has extended the ban on exports of steel and paper scrap from the country for a period of four months, the ministry said on September 13.

South American steel import prices rose during the week September 18 with deals reported at higher levels. But new offers, particularly from China, were lower, indicating that the recent price uptrend was slowing down, market participants have told Fastmarkets.

The European charge and high-carbon ferro-chrome benchmark for the fourth quarter 2020 is $1.14 per lb, unchanged for the third consecutive quarter.

What to read next
The influential annual treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) benchmark that sets the price that smelters charge miners to process their copper concentrate could be at risk, according to multiple market sources, although most believe the system, or elements of it, will remain
Fastmarkets' initial low-carbon premium for nickel briquettes captured existing regional price differences, with growing awareness and legislative incentives indicating there is potential for a strong market to emerge
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
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
Brazilian aluminium supply coming from Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA) is said to have tightened, helping to boost the P1020A ingot premium, market participants told Fastmarkets in the two weeks to Wednesday April 24
In anticipation of a tight market, copper concentrate traders have locked in 2025 volumes at notably low treatment charges, with deals being placed well below the long-term industry benchmarks