IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from January 23

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday January 23 that are worth another look.

The London Metal Exchange’s warrant depository has begun to show delays after large amounts of warrants were canceled, sources told Fastmarkets MB. More than 130,000 tonnes of aluminium was freshly canceled on the exchange over the past two days, with traders expecting the cancellations to continue.

Privately-owned Sigma Broking Ltd has approached LME members to acquire B shares as it moves forward with a plan to become the first new Category I ring-trading entity since 2007, well-informed sources told Fastmarkets.

China’s imported volumes of copper scrap fell by almost one-third in 2018 from the year before, following the implementation of various scrap import barriers and a tariff on material from major supplier the United States.

The US hot-rolled coil market faces another important year in 2019, one that has already seen many unexpected developments, including a surprise decline in ferrous scrap prices in January. Fastmarkets AMM has summarized five of the most important developments that market participants should watch this year.

Major Chinese mills’ daily crude steel output increased in early January, but their finished steel inventory levels dropped slightly.

What to read next
Quarterly figures released by global miner Glencore on Wednesday October 30 showed that zinc concentrate output was dropping in a tight market while overall nickel output was down despite an increase in briquettes.
On Thursday October 24, the US Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released the final rules regarding the Section 45X credits under the US Internal Revenues Code. The final rules clarify definitions and confirm credit amounts for eligible components, including solar and wind energy, inverters, qualifying battery components and applicable critical minerals. […]
Nickel premiums remained stable worldwide, with the London Metal Exchange's three-month nickel price hitting its lowest point since mid-September.
Imports of cobalt intermediates have continued to rise in China, with January-September volumes already exceeding that of the entire previous year. This excessive inflow has led to an enduring oversupply in the domestic cobalt market, sources have told Fastmarkets
Market participants disagreed over the cause of the long queues to withdraw aluminium from London Metal Exchange-registered warehouses at Port Klang in Malaysia, Fastmarkets heard on Thursday October 17
Copper concentrate treatment charges (TCs) are expected to remain low in 2025, with the market likely to remain tight, sources from across the industry told Fastmarkets.