Fastmarkets’ weekly recap of the main movements in global agriculture cash markets.

LME Week 2025 opens for the lithium market amid rising uncertainty over China’s new export controls on battery materials, and a shifting outlook for domestic supply from lepidolite and salt-lake projects

Fastmarkets will adjust the base brands of its MB-MNO-0001 manganese ore high grade index, cif Tianjin, and its MB-MNO-0005 manganese ore high grade port index, fot Tianjin, on Saturday November 1, to better reflect the bulk of ore traded in today’s market and is clarifying how the index is formed. Fastmarkets’ MB-MNO-0001 manganese ore high grade index […]

Fastmarkets has corrected its AG-SYB-0078 Crush Margin China Soy (Brazil) M1 Yuan/mt and AG-SYB-0079 Crush Margin China Soy (US Gulf) M1 Yuan/mt prices, which were published incorrectly on October 9.

Chinese cobalt refiners are preparing to use cobalt metal as feedstock for sulfate and tetroxide production, as tightening supply and price rallies on cobalt hydroxide from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have made smelters look for alternatives, market sources told Fastmarkets.

China has unveiled a two-year work plan to stabilize its giant steel sector, setting out measures to curb overcapacity, shore up profitability and accelerate a long-term transition toward greener and more technologically advanced production.

Fastmarkets has discontinued its UM Paper-branded Chinese prices from Wednesday October 1, following a strategic decision to close its UM Paper-branded publications which was originally announced in a notice published on July 28.

Geology not ideology: Why collaboration is key in the critical minerals supply chain

China set a higher target for automobile sales in 2025 compared with a year earlier, with the country aiming to keep the upward momentum in 2026, according to a notice published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Friday September 12.

Given the prevailing specifications of mid-grade iron ore fines and mid-grade Australia lump in the seaborne spot market, Fastmarkets proposes to launch the index to track and reflect the spot price of 60-63% Fe iron ore lump over the spot price of 61% Fe iron ore fines in the CFR Qingdao spot market, aligning with […]