Sources from across the copper concentrate industry told Fastmarkets that some miners are becoming more cautious of their counterparty risk – the risk that the other party in a transaction may not fulfill its part of the deal – with copper concentrate terms being agreed as far out as 2028.

Suppliers were not letting-up in their search for price increases for market pulp imports into China, despite Chinese buyers’ escalating pushback, and this has worsened the unusual situation in which pulp is more expensive than finished products in that market

Morocco and Algeria faced challenges with wheat and barley production due to drought conditions, leading to below-average forecasts

Supply disruption and financial speculation helped most base metals prices hit 2024 highs in the week to Friday May 24, yet demand remains mostly muted

Fastmarkets proposes to increase the frequency of its Rotterdam and Busan molybdic oxide and ferro-molybdenum prices to daily from twice weekly.

Read the full transcript from episode two of Fast Forward podcast with Andrea Hotter, where she interviews Paul Lusty, head of battery raw materials at Fastmarkets

The United States Trade Representative's (USTR) office announced a further extension of all China Section 301 tariff exclusions on 352 Chinese import and 77 pandemic-related categories through June 14, after which, the tariff exclusion for China’s graphite anodes will not be extended, the USTR announced on Friday May 24

Fastmarkets has clarified the specifications of its copper grade A cathode and non exchange-deliverable equivalent-grade (EQ) copper cathode premiums, to avoid any confusion regarding the deliverable status of its copper cathode assessments.

The death knell sounded on Monday May 20 for the quarterly European ferro-chrome benchmark, bringing with it the end of a long-running, divisive, often disputed, yet highly influential and important pricing mechanism

Interest in recycling battery raw materials in the US has increased, particularly from the electronics and lithium-ion battery sectors, and due in part to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to New York-based Glencore trader Mary Schilling.