China’s direct flat steel trade with the EU was already thin, at just 3-5% of total exports, or around 2 million tonnes a year, thanks to years of anti-dumping and countervailing duties. That leaves little room for the bloc’s newly tightened import quotas to inflict much additional direct damage, sources told Fastmarkets.

Fastmarkets will publish the following eight China containerboard price assessments on Thursday December 31, 2026 at 2pm Beijing time due to the New Year’s Day holiday on Friday January 1, 2027.

Discover what food and beverage commodity intelligence really means and why independent benchmarks give procurement teams the credibility to challenge costs and defend budgets.

Fastmarkets' assessments for MB-AS-0001 Arsenic 99% min As, in-whs Rotterdam, $/lb, MB-RE-0001 Rhenium APR catalytic grade, in-whs dup Rotterdam, $/kg Re, MB-RE-0002 Rhenium metal pellets 99.9% Re min, in-whs dup, Rotterdam $/lb and MB-HF-0001 Hafnium, max 1% Zr, in-whs global locations, $/kg were incorrectly published because of a reporter error.

The subsidiaries of the German FBB producer FOLBB Baiersbronn Frischfaser Karton and Folding Boxboard Eerbeek have filed for the initiation of insolvency proceedings and a suspension of payments.

The transition of the iron ore market to a 61% Fe pricing benchmark is reshaping trading dynamics and leading participants across the value chain to reassess grade preferences, emerging demand centers and the growing importance of product quality in a decarbonizing steel sector, according to panelists speaking at the panel discussion “The benchmark transition ​and its implication from different voices​” at Iron Ore Decoded 2026, a conference co-organized by Fastmarkets and Horizon Insights.​

As the market entered May, spring demand has not lived up to expectations with weakness reported to have been compounded by a stock overhang.

Fastmarkets has calculated its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) Certificate Index at a price only slightly below the official average price for the first quarter of this year, when the regime was brought into operation.

Iron ore market participants said Simandou’s production ramp-up remains on track to meet market expectations, with growing exports from Guinea expected to influence freight markets, high-grade ore pricing and steel decarbonization strategies.

Fastmarkets has corrected its FP-PP-0002 polypropylene polymer, fiber grade, free delivered Europe, €/kg assessment, which was published incorrectly on July 1 due to a typo.