IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from January 2

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday January 2 that are worth another look.

The Chinese city of Ganzhou has launched an exchange for physical trading of rare earths and other minor metals.

The outlook for aluminium scrap prices in the United States appears gloomy on the surface for 2020, with market sources noting that the US market remains plagued by oversupply. 

Demand for reinforcing bar is set to recover in Brazil this year, market participants said – and mills have already announced a first round of price increases.

Buyers and sellers have agreed on the premium to be applied to fourth-quarter shipments of direct-reduced iron pellet, while negotiations for shipments in the first quarter of 2020 have continued but at lower levels, sources told Fastmarkets in late December.

The majority of Chinese annual blister copper supply contracts for 2020 have settled at significantly lower refining charges due to expected tight supply of the intermediate product.

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