IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from December 11

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday December 11 that are worth another look.

Japan’s Kanto Tetsugen has secured a higher price at its ferrous scrap auction for December, which is likely to boost sentiment in the Asian market for the steelmaking raw material.

The emergence of a contango in London Metal Exchange aluminium spreads for early next year helped push premiums in the Dutch port of Rotterdam upward in the week ended Tuesday December 10, while rates elsewhere were either unchanged or down amid prevailing weak market conditions.

Chinese copper producer Jiangxi Copper will become the largest shareholder of Canada-listed First Quantum Minerals (FQM) after its $1.12-billion purchase of PIM Cupric Holdings (PCH), which holds around 18.015% of FQM’s issued shares.

A closed arbitrage window between the Shanghai and London exchanges forced nickel premiums in China lower, while a push for market participants to clear stock by year-end in the United States moved premiums lower there as well.

The sharp fall in London Metal Exchange three-month lead price has put upward pressure on the US lead premium. Stock liquidation and weak buying saw the Italian delivered zinc premium decline, while the Shanghai zinc market held firm.

What to read next
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.