IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from July 17

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday July 17 that are worth another look.

Imports of long products to the European Union dropped during the first four months of 2020 year on year due to the toxic combination of the effect of Covid-19 on consumption and rising protectionism.

It has not been an easy year so far for Peru’s zinc and lead mining companies after the coronavirus pandemic swept through South America, with operations facing lengthy shutdowns as well as multi-year low prices for their products.

Declining copper stocks at London Metal Exchange-registered warehouses are not an indicator of improving demand conditions in Europe, according to industry participants, with the LME’s recent off-warrant stock publication showing the extent of surplus supply in the region.

Exports of manganese ore from South Africa have almost quadrupled from April to July, according to preliminary trade data seen by Fastmarkets, and the majority will head to China, where inventories are already rising and prices have fallen sharply.

Chinese domestic spot prices of both indium and germanium have yet to yield any gains after the provincial government of Yunnan announced further details on the commercial stockpiling of several non-ferrous metals, which in theory could lend some support to these metals, Fastmarkets understands.

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.