IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from January 4

The benchmark for the supply of aluminium to main Japanese ports in the first quarter of 2019 has settled in a premium range of $83-85 per tonne cif over the London Metal Exchange price, the lowest level in more than two years, sources directly involved in the negotiations disclosed to Fastmarkets MB.

This week’s sudden rise in the value of the Japanese yen could support higher ferrous scrap offers in Asia, market sources told Fastmarkets MB on Friday January 4.

The United States’ ferrous scrap export prices plummeted by almost $50 per tonne in a fresh bulk sale from the East Coast to Turkey, triggering another wave of large price reductions at the docks.

The European Commission intends to impose definitive measures in the form of tariff-rate, partially country-specific and quarterly quotas for 26 steel product categories for its safeguard case against steel dumping in Europe, the EC said on January 4.

But the European Automotive Manufacturers Association questioned the need for such measures on Friday, noting that the European safeguard case against certain steel product imports “does not take into account the needs of the automotive sector and will affect the competitiveness of EU automobile manufacturers.”