IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from January 22

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday January 22 that are worth another look.

China’s export plate prices gained last week as mills raised their offers amid a stronger US dollar, but the market has been quiet this week ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

European aluminium premiums edged up this week despite the backwardation seen in nearby London Metal Exchange spreads, while rates in the United States declined to a near 23-month low amid quiet spot conditions.

Copper premiums were largely flat ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in the main consumer territory of China. But premiums did make some small gains in Shanghai and a barrage of stocks begun to hit London Metal Exchange warehouses on Tuesday January 21.

South32 sold an indirect stake in fellow manganese producer United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK) for $93 million during the three months to December 31, 2019, both companies have confirmed.

High-carbon ferro-chrome spot import prices in Japan and South Korea largely shrugged off higher offers resulting from fresh strength in the domestic Indian ferro-chrome market.

What to read next
The Mexico Metals Outlook 2025 conference explored challenges and opportunities in the steel, aluminum and scrap markets, focusing on tariffs, nearshoring, capacity growth and global trends.
China has launched a coordinated crackdown on the illegal export of strategic minerals under export control, such as antimony, gallium, germanium, tungsten and rare earths, the country’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Friday May 9.
Fastmarkets proposes to amend the frequency of Taiwan base metals prices from biweekly to monthly, and the delivery timing for the tin 99.99% ingot premium from two weeks to four weeks.
The US-China trade truce announced on May 12 has brought cautious optimism to China’s non-ferrous metals markets, signaling a possible shift in global trade. Starting May 14, the removal of additional tariffs has impacted sectors like battery raw materials, minor metals and base metals such as zinc and nickel, with mixed reactions. While the improved sentiment has lifted futures prices and trade activity, the long-term effects remain unclear due to challenges like supply-demand pressures and export controls.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ assessments of Shanghai bonded aluminium, zinc and nickel stocks for April 30 were delayed because of a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated. The data effective for April 30 was published on May 7 as a result. The following assessments were affected:Shanghai aluminium bonded stocksShanghai zinc bonded stocksShanghai nickel […]
Global physical copper cathodes premiums were mixed in the week to Tuesday April 15, with US market moving down, Europe rising and Asia holding largely steady.