IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from January 31

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday January 31 that are worth another look.

Imports of hot-rolled stainless steel sheet and coil from China, Taiwan and Indonesia now need to be registered on entering the European Union and could be subject to retroactive duties later in the year.

The supply-demand dynamics in the global copper market were likely to turn into a deficit in 2020, helping to boost the average price to $2.85 per lb during the year, Chilean state copper commission Cochilco said on Thursday January 30.

Global battery grade lithium markets were steady in the week to January 30 with Chinese markets still away for the Lunar New Year holiday which has been extended due to the Wuhan coronavirus and European and United States prices yet to be affected by any impact from the health emergency

Global manganese ore supply increased 6% year on year in 2019 to 22.14 million tonnes of manganese units, amid rising output in Africa and the Americas, according to the latest data from the International Manganese Institute (IMnI).

Ferro-tungsten prices continued to rise this week, as recent tightness was reinforced by concerns about a potential threat to movement of units from China as a result of the Wuhan coronavirus.

What to read next
The most recent financial results published by base metals mining companies highlight just how inflation is affecting profit margins, with increasing wages, financing costs and input prices all hitting profits, sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Thursday March 28
Century Aluminum is among those selected to start award negotiations for up to $500 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funding to build a new aluminium smelter, the company said on Monday March 25
Participants in the copper concentrates market are struggling to comprehend an “unstoppable” decline in treatment and refinement charges (TC/RCs), with every week bringing spot deals at fresh lows and rumors each “crazier” than the last, sources have told Fastmarkets
The US Department of Energy selected five base metals projects to receive more than $900 million in federal investment from its Industrial Demonstration Program (IDP), leading to a reduction of four million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, according to a statement by the Department on Monday March 25
Aluminium producer and recycler Constellium announced on Tuesday March 12 that the company is moving to test hydrogen utilization at an industrial scale as a power source in its casthouses
Fastmarkets has corrected its MB-ALU-0002 alumina index, fob Australia and its MB-ALU-0010 alumina inferred index, fob Brazil, which were published incorrectly on Monday March 18.