IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from January 13

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Monday January 13 that are worth another look.

Sentiment in the global long steel market has become more positive “especially after the announcement that a trade deal between the [United States] and China will be signed,” the International Rebar Producers & Exporters Association (Irepas) said last week.

International auditing and advisory firm EY has stepped in to assist China’s biggest private copper smelter, Dongying Fangyuan, in navigating problems with frozen assets, lawsuits and access to credit, Fastmarkets has learned.

Fastmarkets has relaunched its ores and alloys cuts counter to track widespread production cutbacks amid the current low prices.

The European ferro-vanadium market moved higher in the week to Friday January 10 amid increased spot market activity, with the vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) market price following the uptrend.

Despite uncertainty surrounding downstream demand, the price of cobalt sulfate in China has jumped by more than 12% so far this year, with suppliers either offering the material at aggressively high levels or holding back from sales.

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Market reactions to the soon-to-be-implemented US copper tariff are driving short-term volatility and supply imbalances while fuelling long-term efforts to expand domestic production, recycling and infrastructure.
US export controls on recycled copper would have unintended consequences that could weaken the country’s domestic recycling and manufacturing ecosystems, the president of the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA) said.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ assessments for nickel 4x4 cathode, nickel briquette and nickel uncut cathode premiums in-whs Rotterdam was delayed on Tuesday July 16 because of a reporter error.
Fastmarkets has corrected its alumina index inferred prices, which were published incorrectly on Tuesday July 15.
The United States' copper recycling industry is ramping up pressure on policymakers to impose some form of export controls on high-purity copper scrap, arguing that current trade dynamics – particularly with China – are distorting prices, weakening domestic capacity and undermining national security goals.
Fastmarkets launched two new price assessments for Indonesia’s domestic trade in nickel ore on Tuesday July 15. The two price assessments are for domestic trades of Indonesian laterite ores with 1.6% and 1.2% nickel content. Indonesia now accounts for 60% of the global nickel supplies and while there is an official government reference price, known […]