IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from August 9

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday August 9 that are worth another look.

China launched a consultation paper on Friday August 9 to implement a stricter arsenic threshold on copper concentrates imports, a move that could lead to drastic changes in global trade flow of high-impurity concentrates and a further premium on treatment charges of clean concentrates.

Weak demand and bearish macroeconomic factors continued to pressure primary aluminium foundry alloy premiums lower in Europe and the United States on Friday August 9.

Treatment and refining charges for spot copper concentrates trended lower still early in August, with traders placing sharp bids on tendered cargoes and smelters amid continued port disruptions in Peru.

The Chinese domestic alumina price hit a fresh low on Thursday August 8 after falling for 13 consecutive weeks as a result of weaker domestic demand and an oversupplied market.

After more than a year of facing tariffs on steel imports under Section 232, downstream manufacturers in the United States have begun idling capacity and laying off workers while they tackle higher production costs and reduced market share.

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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.