IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from December 4

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday December 4 that are worth another look.

French special steelmaker Ascoval, part of the British Steel group, is to supply 140,000 tonnes per year of semi-finished products, rectangular blooms, to rail manufacturing specialist BSFR (British Steel France Rail) to be processed into rails for the SNCF Réseau national train network at its plant in Hayange, France.

The Chinese government has approved a seventh round of copper scrap import quotas for this year at lower volumes compared to the previous batch, Fastmarkets has learned.

Hebei Steel, China’s second largest steel mill, released its purchase price for silico-manganese at 5,950 yuan ($844) per tonne for December delivery, down by 150 yuan per tonne from its November tender price, market sources told Fastmarkets on December 4.

Global nickel premiums were unchanged in the week ended Tuesday December 3 amid limited spot activity while participants were busy focusing on long-term contract negotiations or celebrating regional holidays.

Taiwanese buyers of zinc ingot have signed 2020 annual supply contracts with major zinc producers at lower premiums compared with this year, sources with knowledge of the matter told Fastmarkets.

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.