IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from December 31

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday December 31 that are worth another look.

Hebei Steel, China’s second largest steel mill, released its purchase price for silico-manganese at 6,600 yuan ($944) per tonne for January delivery, up by 650 yuan per tonne from its December tender price, market participants told Fastmarkets.

Flat steel import offer prices in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia increased this week, despite demand being weak in the run up to the end of the year, sources told Fastmarkets on Tuesday.

China’s rebar prices rose in the east on December 31, bolstered by restocking activity by stockists in expectation of price increases in January.

Chilean copper output fell by 6.7% year on year in November due to a combination of nationwide protests and operational problems, national statistics institute INE said on December 31.

The domestic price for hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe was unchanged on December 31 due to limited trading activity, sources told Fastmarkets.

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Fastmarkets will increase the frequency of its two existing CIF China port copper scrap prices and add three new grades on Monday March 16.
Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Port of Sohar in Oman are becoming tactical workarounds for base metal exports blocked by the Strait of Hormuz closure, with cargo transiting via land-bridge to other Gulf states, such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – though capacity constraints and elevated logistics costs limit availability, sources with direct visibility of Gulf supply chains told Fastmarkets.
The Mexican aluminium market might be strongly affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with supply constraints and consequently higher premiums, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 10.
Lundin Mining and BHP published a preliminary economic assessment on February 16 for their Vicuña joint venture, projecting average annual copper production of 395,000 tonnes over the first 25 years of operation as Argentina’s copper concentrate pipeline continues to build. PSJ Cobre Mendocino separately confirmed on February 14 that its feasibility study was under way.
Chinese lead smelters turned more bearish on the procurement of raw materials in the week to Friday February 13, amid heightened price volatility in silver, which is often contained in lead ores as an important by-product and contributor to smelter profits, sources told Fastmarkets.