IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from April 22

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Wednesday April 22 that are worth another look.

The Covid-19 pandemic could nudge Chinese steelmakers toward using more electric-arc furnaces (EAF) to produce steel, market sources say.

Aluminium stocks on the London Metal Exchange continue to rise and there is now a lack of warehouse space in key Asia locations in a situation that mirrors issues during the 2008 financial crash, sources told Fastmarkets.

More than 100,000 lots of Comex copper futures traded on Tuesday April 21, pushing the May-July spread into a super contango – with prices for future delivery well above spot levels.

The European charge and high carbon ferro-chrome benchmark has jumped by 13 cents, or 12.9%, to $1.14 per lb for the second quarter of 2020.

Five suspects were arrested and 250 tonnes of antimony ingot seized in the latest crackdown on antimony smuggling led by China’s Changsha Customs, the country’s General Administration of Customs said on its website on April 17.

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Fastmarkets has corrected its MB-ALU-0003 alumina inferred index, fob Brazil, which was published incorrectly on Thursday October 30 due to a technical error. MB-ALU-0010 Alumina index inferred, fob Brazil was published in error as $340.40 per dry metric tonne. It has been corrected to $341.49 per dmt. MB-ALU-0003 Alumina index adjustment to fob Australia index, Brazil was […]
As global smelting margins weaken, a quiet revival is taking shape in the United States as new copper smelting and refining projects gather momentum. Policy shifts, strategic incentives and the push for industrial resilience are driving investment that could close America’s long-standing processing gap and reshape its role in the global copper market.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ MB-ALU-0002 alumina index, fob Australia assessment for Thursday October 30 was delayed because of a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.