Renewed US-China trade tensions with Donald Trump’s second presidential term could bolster Southeast Asia’s aluminium scrap industry in 2025, particularly amid still-growing Chinese demand, sources told Fastmarkets by Tuesday, January 14.

European steel and aluminium producers have urged the European Commission to take immediate and effective action to tackle "scrap leakage" so that the European Union can meet its sustainable development aims and secure industrial competitiveness.

Fastmarkets has corrected several ferrous metal weekly averages, which were published incorrectly on December 28.

China issued its first national standard for black mass material used in lithium-ion battery recycling on the final day of 2024, with market participants expecting that it will provide clearer guidance on importing the material into the powerhouse country, Fastmarkets heard on Friday January 10.

Fastmarkets published its MB-STE-0232 Steel scrap No1 busheling, consumer buying price, delivered mill Chicago, $/gross ton on Friday January 10, 2025.

The publication of Fastmarkets’ arsenic 99% min As, in-whs Rotterdam, rhenium APR catalytic grade, in-whs dup Rotterdam, rhenium metal pellets 99.9% Re min, in-whs dup and hafnium, max 1% Zr, in-whs global locations, $/kg price assessments for Friday January 10, 2025 were delayed because of a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.

Reducing reliance on China’s hugely successful critical minerals supply chain dominance was never going to be easy, as some western mining companies are finding out the hard way.

The demand for high-grade iron ore in 2024 is expected to remain weak due to constrained steelmaking margins, oversupply, and high port inventories.

2025 global steel market preview: 10 key themes shaping steel and ferro-alloys, from growth to decarbonization and protectionism.

Markets will be required to pay a premium for green alumina soon because of producer Alunorte’s developments in terms of decarbonization and sustainability, Carlos Neves, vice president of operations at Hydro Bauxite and Alumina, said in an interview with Fastmarkets on Tuesday January 7.