Sluggish demand for China’s graphite flake fines in both the batteries’ anode and refractories sectors has led to ongoing output cuts among flake miners and processors, which has further tightened the supply of large flake graphite in China, sources told Fastmarkets.

The growth in Chinese shipments of batteries for energy storage systems (ESS) is far outstripping the growth in deliveries of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Friday November 1.

Fastmarkets/RISI economist Dustin Jalbert noted that temporary downtime and quiet, unannounced cutbacks contributed to reduced capacity in 2024.

Fastmarkets launched assessments for MB-FEM-0008 green ferroalloy domestic, ferro-manganese max 7% C, 65% Mn min, differential to FeMn assessment, in-whs China and MB-FEM-0009 green ferroalloy domestic, ferro-manganese max 7% C, 65% Mn min, weekly inferred price, in-whs China on Friday November 1.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessments for Polish long steel were published on Thursday October 31, one day ahead of schedule due to a public holiday in Poland on November 1.

In this edition of the pallet pricing newsletter, we assess the impact of the holiday season, extreme weather and housing starts on the pallet industry.

Fastmarkets launches AG-TLW-0036 tallow, max 15% ffa, fob Santos, $/tonne; AG-TLW-0037 bleachable fancy tallow, max 5% ffa, cif Sao Paulo, Real/kg; and AG-TLW-0038 bleachable fancy tallow, max 3.5% ffa, cif Sao Paulo, Real/kg on Thursday October 31.

Jinnan Iron & Steel Group is the latest company to join the push to expand China's steelmaking footprint in the Middle East and is working with Brazil's Vale to establish an iron ore concentration plant at the Sohar Port and Freezone in Oman, Fastmarkets understands.

A new Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE) called China Resources Recycling Group (CRRG) has been established to build a national platform for recycling and reusing resources, according to an announcement from Chinese officials on October 18. While details of the company's specific plans remain scarce, market participants remain concerned about weak market fundamentals, sources told Fastmarkets..

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has confirmed that fuel duty will not rise in 2025, keeping the previous 5 pence-per-liter discount in place.