IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from February 7

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday February 7 that are worth another look.

Prices in Southeast Asia’s steel billet market have tumbled last week amid speculation that Chinese billet importers could annul contracts on the grounds of virus-related force majeure.

China has halved tariffs on a slew of US-sourced metals and minerals including copper cathodes and rare earths.

Nickel and cobalt producer Ramu NiCo, owned by state-owned Metallurgical Corporation of China, has been sued for $5.4 billion for environmental failures, the latest in a long line of environmental woes to befall the Papua New Guinea operation.

Zinc’s benchmark cash/three-month spread on the London Metal Exchange has moved into contango for the first time in five months after the largest inflow since last April brought on-warrant material to more than 50,000 tonnes.

The coronavirus outbreak in China has severely disrupted logistics in the country, creating a shortage of available truck drivers and rail freight cars, with transport between provinces severely disrupted.

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The publication of Fastmarkets’ MB-PB-0086 lead 99.99% ingot premium, cif India and MB-PB-0087 lead 99.97% ingot premium, cif India assessments for Tuesday November 5 were delayed due to a reporter error.
Quarterly figures released by global miner Glencore on Wednesday October 30 showed that zinc concentrate output was dropping in a tight market while overall nickel output was down despite an increase in briquettes.
On Thursday October 24, the US Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released the final rules regarding the Section 45X credits under the US Internal Revenues Code. The final rules clarify definitions and confirm credit amounts for eligible components, including solar and wind energy, inverters, qualifying battery components and applicable critical minerals. […]
Nickel premiums remained stable worldwide, with the London Metal Exchange's three-month nickel price hitting its lowest point since mid-September.
Imports of cobalt intermediates have continued to rise in China, with January-September volumes already exceeding that of the entire previous year. This excessive inflow has led to an enduring oversupply in the domestic cobalt market, sources have told Fastmarkets
Market participants disagreed over the cause of the long queues to withdraw aluminium from London Metal Exchange-registered warehouses at Port Klang in Malaysia, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday October 17