Aluminium market participants in the US anticipate stable business supported by continued tariffs and potential interest rate cuts, while industry sources in Europe and Latin America are watchful of potential new trade restrictions.

Donald Trump’s second term as US president is not likely to have too much of an impact on China’s electric vehicle (EV) and new energy markets, despite broader concerns over potential tariff hikes which might bring challenges to both China and the US, sources told Fastmarkets on Thursday November 7.

As the dust settles in Washington and Americans wake up to news that Donald Trump is once again president-elect, participants in the cobalt market discuss the wider ramifications on a crucial coming four years for the electric vehicle (EV) industry.

Fastmarkets and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) introduced the used cooking oil (UCO) Gulf (Fastmarkets) futures contract on November 01, 2024. This contract is linked to Fastmarkets' used cooking oil price assessment and addresses growing demand and complexity in the biofuel feedstock market. It offers market participants a valuable tool for risk management

Chinese authorities officially announced that they will be expanding the range of permitted recycled copper and aluminium imports from mid-November, but market participants Fastmarkets spoke to at a conference this week are not convinced that this will mean more material will be imported into the country in the short run.

Spodumene prices rose on Wednesday November 6 as Chinese lithium producers restocked, but news of the US election result late in the session weakened sentiment.

Non-Chinese graphite producers were measured in their reaction to Donald Trump’s re-election on Wednesday November 6, predicting an unclear net impact of his potential policies on the build-out of supply chains for the battery raw material outside of China.

Donald Trump has previously said he plans to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), at least partially, and rescind its unspent funds.

Fastmarkets is inviting feedback on the pricing methodology for MB-AL-0004 aluminium P1020A premium, in-whs dp Rotterdam and MB-AL-0346 aluminium P1020A premium, in-whs dup Rotterdam ahead of the definitive period of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism which starts from January 2026.

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) announced on Thursday October 31 a further $44.8 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) for eight projects to lower the costs of recycling electric vehicle (EV) batteries and EV battery components to ultimately decrease overall EV costs.