IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from January 30

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday January 30 that are worth another look.

The Wuhan coronavirus will likely influence fundamentals in China’s steel market and Chinese export trends in the near future, sources told Fastmarkets this week.

Zinc’s weak fundamentals are finally catching up with prices, after being softened by a selloff sparked by concerns about the coronavirus outbreak in China.

A mixture of fears over supply disruptions amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak and low stocks in Rotterdam are giving European traders enough leverage to increase their manganese flake offers substantially, which has already an effect on prices.

The miner Russian Ferro Alloys (RFA) has started production of charge chrome at a time when supply from the incumbent producers has been cut in the face of low prices and an escalation of costs.

Ferro-vanadium prices rose by more than 7% in Europe during the first half of this week, with traders reporting low warehouse inventories and potential interference to China’s ability to plug the gap should the coronavirus outbreak create logistical delays.