The pace of Chinese companies' heavy investments in Indonesian nickel may slow in the new year with slumping prices eroding profitability amid additional geopolitical risks, Fastmarkets heard

The market is now regaining momentum, with traders expecting further premium jumps once consumer activity picks up post-holidays

This increase was most notable in Rotterdam and Italy, reaching their highest levels since October 2023, underscoring the market's sensitivity to global events

One of the last five aluminium smelters in the United States – the privately owned Magnitude 7 Metals LLC smelter in Marston, Missouri – is considering closing if a buyer is not found, Fastmarkets has learned

A recent clarification of the Section 45X tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that includes aluminium in the critical minerals list will help boost domestic production, according to aluminium producers in the United States

The aluminum billet markets in the key global locations of Europe, Brazil and Thailand softened in the month to Friday December 15, while the US market edged higher

The downtrend in China’s nickel pig iron (NPI) prices resumed in the week to Friday December 8 after pausing the preceding week, with the market still facing oversupply and slow demand from the stainless steel sector

Some cathode makers have been switching back to lower-nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) from high-nickel NCM cathodes to reduce costs and encourage consumers amid slowing demand for electric vehicles (EVs), Fastmarkets understands

Find out how days before the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, the World Economic Forum (WEF) outlined three key areas of investment for the global aluminium industry to reach net zero by 2050 – clean energy, emerging technologies and decarbonization infrastructure – but it will require hundreds of billions of dollars

“The [Department] has a set of tools through the Inflation Reduction Act [IRA] and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” Annie Sartor, aluminum campaign director at clean industry advocate group Industrious Labs, said. “They are open to talking about what the industry needs. When we said the current investments were not enough, they were open to conversation,” […]