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

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

China’s threshold for electric vehicles to receive subsidies in 2019 has been increased again while the value of subsidies has been cut sharply, which was expected by the majority of market participants who are now cautiously checking the resulting impact on the battery supply chain. 

The global market for direct-reduced (DR)-grade pellets continues to suffer from a shortage after being aggravated by Vale’s dam collapse in late January, which has pushed the DR pellet premium up further, Fastmarkets has learned.

Tianqi Lithium Kwinana Pty Ltd, the wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese lithium producer Tianqi Lithium, has signed two strategic supply agreements for battery-grade lithium hydroxide separately with SK Innovation Co Ltd and EcoPro BM Co Ltd, the producer said.

Copper stocks in Shanghai-bonded warehouses rose for a fifth consecutive month in March, hitting a 20-month high by the end of the month, after Chinese smelters continued to deliver cargoes into the bonded zone to take advantage of an export arbitrage that has been in place since mid-February.

Treatment charges for spot zinc concentrate continued to rise in March with deals over the $300-per-tonne mark made for clean cargoes.

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The proposal would align the index more closely with physically traded volumes in the region, and enable it to adjust to evolving market conditions. This proposal follows an observed widening of the spread between trader and smelter purchase components of the index and is aligned with a majority of market feedback. Additionally, Fastmarkets seeks feedback […]
Until now, aluminium has been hard to move, not hard to find. Global aluminium supply had remained technically intact, even as output was curtailed in parts of the Gulf, inventory buffers were drawn down or repositioned, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted.
Global aluminium producers face heightened uncertainty over power supplies, with oil and gas prices elevated by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets is extending the consultation period for the methodology of several of its black mass payables indicators and prices, and is also proposing changes to the names of CIF South Korea and EWX Europe black mass prices.
Rio Tinto Aluminium is expanding its footprint beyond its historic hydro-powered Canadian base, targeting Europe, Asia and Latin America as part of a deliberate diversification strategy, according to the unit’s chief executive officer.
Fastmarkets has corrected its copper concentrates treatment and refinement charge indices, which were published incorrectly on March 20 2026 due to a technical error.