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

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

United States President Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Brazil and Argentina, he said on social media platform Twitter on December 2.

A major Japanese steel mill plans to raise its hot-rolled coil offers to Asian buyers by $50 per tonne on a cfr basis for January-shipment materials.

Spot copper concentrate treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) increased at the end of November, with the market busy discussing annual contracts and deals.

Chinese vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) prices have resumed their decline as sentiment deteriorated on falling downstream vanadium nitrogen tender prices from major steel mills, while in Europe the price range widened upwards on increased spot activity.

Belgian battery-materials manufacturer Umicore has completed its purchase of cobalt refining and cathode precursor activities in Kokkola, Finland from Freeport Cobalt for $203 million.

What to read next
Brazil's aluminium industry is further enhancing its sustainability by boosting renewable energy use and recycling, while mitigating risk from high-carbon imports
German copper producer Aurubis is among the least likely to consider reducing capacity despite record low treatment charges (TCs), according to its chief executive officer
European copper demand, particularly for wire rod, remains strong and seems to be outpacing broader macro-economic growth in the region, the chief executive officer of German producer Aurubis has said.
The process to place the smaller and less efficient of the two processing plants at Los Bronces on care and maintenance is expected to be completed by mid-2024 and comes as the company pushes value over volume, the chief executive officer of Anglo American Chile said
The near-term prospects for Chinese copper smelting capacity amid near-zero treatment charges (TCs) will, to a certain extent, depend on plants’ exposure to spot TCs, the chief executive officer of Rio Tinto’s copper division said on Tuesday, April 16
It will be very difficult for many Chinese copper smelters to compete with treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) at record lows, according to the chairman of Chile’s state-owned copper producer Codelco