IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from July 16

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday July 16 that are worth another look.

United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday July 15 aimed at maximizing the use of American-made products and materials, the third pillar of his “Buy American, Hire American” plans.

The London Metal Exchange will list Huayou’s cobalt cut cathodes with immediate effect, it announced in a note to members on July 16. 
 
Rio Tinto’s mined copper production fell by 13% year on year in April-June 2019 due to lower production from its Escondida and Kennecott projects, reflective of lower grades, the company said on July 16.

Chinese flake graphite export prices will face headwinds in the near term due to a slowdown in its traditional downstream supply chain and a surge of imported materials, delegates said on the sidelines of an industry conference in Qiandaohu, China, on July 11-12.

Ferro-Alloys Resources, the vanadium mining and processing company based in Kazakhstan, increased its output of vanadium pentoxide in the first half of this year to 71.5 tonnes, it said in a press release on Tuesday.

What to read next
Market reactions to the soon-to-be-implemented US copper tariff are driving short-term volatility and supply imbalances while fuelling long-term efforts to expand domestic production, recycling and infrastructure.
US export controls on recycled copper would have unintended consequences that could weaken the country’s domestic recycling and manufacturing ecosystems, the president of the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA) said.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ assessments for nickel 4x4 cathode, nickel briquette and nickel uncut cathode premiums in-whs Rotterdam was delayed on Tuesday July 16 because of a reporter error.
Fastmarkets has corrected its alumina index inferred prices, which were published incorrectly on Tuesday July 15.
The United States' copper recycling industry is ramping up pressure on policymakers to impose some form of export controls on high-purity copper scrap, arguing that current trade dynamics – particularly with China – are distorting prices, weakening domestic capacity and undermining national security goals.
Fastmarkets launched two new price assessments for Indonesia’s domestic trade in nickel ore on Tuesday July 15. The two price assessments are for domestic trades of Indonesian laterite ores with 1.6% and 1.2% nickel content. Indonesia now accounts for 60% of the global nickel supplies and while there is an official government reference price, known […]