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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Freeport-McMoRan is in the process of ramping up its new copper smelter in Gresik, Indonesia, in a move that has seen the company switch away from being a marketer of concentrates as it becomes a fully integrated producer in the country, the company's chief executive officer Kathleen Quirk told Fastmarkets in an interview during the London Metal Exchange (LME) Week 2024.
Long-term demand trends in the copper sector may reduce cyclical price moves driven by short term factors impacting sentiment, Freeport-McMoRan's chief executive officer Kathleen Quirk told Fastmarkets in an interview during the London Metal Exchange (LME) Week 2024.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ price assessments of calcined alumina on Thursday October 3 were delayed due to a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ India import aluminium scrap price assessments for Wednesday October 2 were delayed because of the Gandhi Jayanti public holiday in India. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
Chilean copper producer Codelco has not yet concluded negotiations for its 2025 premium offer to European customers but remains optimistic that the recent stimulus in China will provide a further boost to demand, the company’s chairman told Fastmarkets.
The copper concentrates market was suffering from a dislocation that would probably lead to smelting cuts, the chairman of Chilean state-owned producer Codelco has said.