IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from March 19

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday March 19 that are worth another look.

Automobile manufacturers General Motors (GM) and Mercedes-Benz have enforced “collective holidays” at their Brazilian operations starting from March 30, in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak (2019-nCoV), the companies said on Wednesday March 18.

Japan’s demand for aluminium is the highest in Asia but has been falling fast due to a slowing economy and the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak affecting downstream demand.

The London Metal Exchange has approved Minara cobalt briquettes produced at Glencore’s Murrin Murrin nickel-cobalt operations in Australia for delivery against the exchange’s physically settled cobalt contract.

Zinc and lead miners have had their silver lining taken out. The price of the precious metal fell abruptly to an 11-year low of $11.80 per oz in the week to March 19, having traded close to multi-year highs mere days previously.

The board of the Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA) and the directors of Metal Events Ltd have postponed the annual conference scheduled for April in Charleston, in the US state of South Carolina, due to concerns over the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus, the trade group said on March 19.