China’s magnet rare earth prices were flat in the week to Thursday June 20, with sellers resisting a further price decline amid persisting weak demand, Fastmarkets heard

The aluminium market in China was expected to come under massive demand from the new energy vehicle (NEV) sector in the years ahead, but the aluminium industry still faced various challenges in the application of the metal in NEVs, Fastmarkets has learned.

Read the full transcript from episode three of Fast Forward podcast with Andrea Hotter on geopolitics and the energy transition with Trafigura's Jeremy Weir.

Spot lithium prices in China’s domestic market declined over the week to Thursday June 20, due to ongoing weak spot demand from the sluggish downstream battery sector and bearish sentiment, sources told Fastmarkets

Indonesia is preparing to invest more in its aluminium supply chain as part of its wider critical metals strategy, Fastmarkets understands

US-headquartered Atlas Lithium decided to expand its investment into Brazilian hard-rock lithium feedstock resources with the acquisition of new exploration permits ahead of scheduled first production from its Neves project in the fourth quarter, the company announced on Monday June 17

Here are the key insights from our conversation with Fastmarkets’ Paul Lusty on the future of the battery raw materials and electric vehicle markets

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) ambitious plan to diversify away from oil and into metals will increase local nickel consumption and fund international mining projects, given recent massive investments in nickel-intense industries

Market sentiment for black mass sales to Asia was hit by weakening battery metal prices in the week to Friday June 14, but solid demand from the expanding South Korean market was lending support to the payables, sources told Fastmarkets.

Aluminium and lithium market participants told Fastmarkets the European Commission’s provisional additional duties on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) are supportive for production but they were not convinced they would be enough to reverse the fortunes of the weakening domestic European auto market