The London Metal Exchange has proposed further alteration to its rules concerning load-out rates for bonded warehouses.

The market has been expecting volatility in base metal prices. But Metal Bulletin Research has also been viewing the lower levels as buying opportunities.

Aluminium producers are urging the LME to take action over warehouse queues and rising premiums, but the financing monster is partly their creation.

Iran produced 8.73 million tonnes of crude steel in the first seven months of the Iranian year, which started on March 20, according to the head of the Iranian Mines & Mining Industries Development & Renovation Organisation (Imidro).

It’s been over a year since the implosion of MF Global, yet the final settlement of the positions of all clients and creditors has still not been fully resolved.

Norilsk Nickel increased saleable nickel and copper production by 11% and 6% respectively in the third quarter of 2012, compared with the second quarter of the year.

Brazil’s refined copper cathode exports dropped in September to about one-seventh of their level in the same month last year, according to the country’s trade ministry.

Iron ore production in Sweden could triple over the next 13 years to reach 90 million tpy, according to a report published earlier this week by industry body SveMin on growth prospects for the country’s mining sector.

The EU is becoming overly dependent on metal imports even for basic commodities such as zinc, aluminium and copper, Europe’s non-ferrous metals body, Eurometaux, warned this week.

What are the hot topics for LME week this year?