Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 2 that are worth another look.

South Africa’s 21-day lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the Covid-19 virus has highlighted the cobalt market’s dependence on the shipping route out of Durban.

The South African port authority is looking to reserve Durban port for the shipment of essential goods only, revoking a separate statement by the country’s maritime authority to allow processing of metals cargoes during the 21-day lockdown, Fastmarkets has learned.

South Africa will now allow metal cargoes to be shipped from the Port of Durban during the country's 21-day lockdown, after many suppliers failed to find alternative export routes over the past week.

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday March 31 that are worth another look.

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Monday March 23 that are worth another look.

Physical trading for copper in China has ground to a halt after the tumbling copper price on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) startled the market, Fastmarkets heard.

MMG temporarily reduced productions at its Peruvian copper mine-Las Bambas following the local governments' declaration of a 15-day state of national emergency to contain the coronavirus (2019-nCoV), the Australian-Chinese miner said on Thursday March 19.

Multi-metals producer Nexa Resources has suspended mining and limited smelting operations in Peru after the local government declared a state of emergency and closed its borders due to the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic, the company said on Thursday March 19.

While risk-off dominates and even though governments are prepared to throw money at the financial system and into economies and households, the likelihood is that more factories will close, household spending will fall, as will demand for raw materials, but there may be some dead cat bounces along the way.