IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from April 2

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Thursday April 2 that are worth another look.

Tata Steel has reduced output at its steel production sites in India and Europe due to decreased demand, and to obey the temporary regulations imposed to tackle the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said on Wednesday April 1.

Norsk Hydro has decided to postpone adding 95,000 tonnes per year to capacity at the Husnes aluminium plant in Norway in light of the rapidly deteriorating market conditions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rio Tinto has declared force majeure on shipments of copper cathode from its Kennecott copper mine in the US state of Utah following a 5.7-magnitude earthquake near the site last month.

Concerns that a tailings dam leak at a Chinese molybdenum mine could affect supplies pushed prices up in the first half of the week, but the uptrend is only expected to be short-lived, sources told Fastmarkets.

Minor metals and ores and alloys producers that rely on shipping routes out of South Africa are warning that practical barriers to producing and transporting material outweigh any technical green light to export, amid conflicting instructions from the country’s authorities.

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The proposal follows Fastmarkets’ observations that the commodity sees inactive spot liquidity and low volatility in prices. The proposed new specifications for the prices are as follows, with the amendments in italics: MB-NI-0246 Nickel sulfate, cif Japan and Korea, $/tonneQuality: Accepted by buyer for use in battery applications with chemical composition: Ni content, base 22.3% […]
Based on preliminary market feedback, market participants noted that smaller-sized spot market transactions may be skewed and not reflective of the wider market. The aluminium P1020A(MJP), cif Japan, assessment specification which has a minimum tonnage of 100 tonnes will be amended to 500 tonnes after the proposed change. The proposed new specifications are as follows, […]
Fastmarkets consulted the market on the proposed change between April 3 and May 11, 2026. Some feedback was received regarding the publication times of nickel pig iron and laterite ore prices. Fastmarkets will adjust the initially proposed publication times accordingly and proceed with the changes. This decision was first proposed in a methodology note published […]
The price assessments were not affected by the incorrect publication and the correct prices are showing on Dashboard. The price was published at 12.33pm London time instead of the scheduled time of 3-4pm. The following prices were published early:MB-CU-0405 Copper grade A cathode premium, in-whs Shanghai, $ per tonneMB-CU-0383 Copper grade A cathode ER premium, bonded in-whs […]
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