IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from January 17

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday January 17 that are worth another look.

China’s auto sales fell last year for the first time since the 1990s, dampening expectations for steel demand in 2019 although some in the market think that there are still opportunities for steelmakers to remain profitable.

The London Metal Exchange announced it will launch seven new cash-settled futures products on Monday March 11, and has selected Fastmarkets to be the price provider for three of the new contracts. In total, there will be two new ferrous contracts, three new contracts into the LME’s aluminium suite and two minor metals contracts.

Fastmarkets’ minor metals team answers some of the key questions raised during our recent web seminar, discussing recent market trends in minor metals and the factors expected to drive price moves in 2019

Major Indonesian integrated steelmaker PT Krakatau Steel is defending its market share of the domestic hot-rolled coil market in the face of more flat steel capacity coming on stream in the country from 2019 onward. 

European steel association Eurofer is concerned that the definitive measures in the European Commission’s safeguard case against steel product imports will not be enough to protect the region’s markets from material redirected from the United States.