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

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

A fundamental industry that has always been a primary facilitator of global trade, shipping aims to be at the forefront of digital technology. This report explores initiatives at the Dutch Port of Rotterdam – Europe’s largest port by cargo tonnage – and how those connect with global trade.

India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies has denied carrying out investigations that could result in safeguard duties being imposed on steel product imports into the country.

Japanese copper smelters have signed supply contracts for copper concentrate with treatment and refining charges of $68 per tonne/6.8 cents per lb, seven informed sources confirmed to Fastmarkets.

Dramatic inflows of lead stock into London Metal Exchange warehouses this week have challenged the market notion of physical tightness following a suspension at Nyrstar’s Port Pirie smelter, which has been cited as the key driver of a recent surge in the lead price.

Metinvest chief executive officer Yuriy Ryzhenkov discusses the challenges the company has overcome and the strategies for its future prosperity.

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The proposal would align the index more closely with physically traded volumes in the region, and enable it to adjust to evolving market conditions. This proposal follows an observed widening of the spread between trader and smelter purchase components of the index and is aligned with a majority of market feedback. Additionally, Fastmarkets seeks feedback […]
Until now, aluminium has been hard to move, not hard to find. Global aluminium supply had remained technically intact, even as output was curtailed in parts of the Gulf, inventory buffers were drawn down or repositioned, and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was severely disrupted.
Global aluminium producers face heightened uncertainty over power supplies, with oil and gas prices elevated by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets is extending the consultation period for the methodology of several of its black mass payables indicators and prices, and is also proposing changes to the names of CIF South Korea and EWX Europe black mass prices.
Rio Tinto Aluminium is expanding its footprint beyond its historic hydro-powered Canadian base, targeting Europe, Asia and Latin America as part of a deliberate diversification strategy, according to the unit’s chief executive officer.
Fastmarkets has corrected its copper concentrates treatment and refinement charge indices, which were published incorrectly on March 20 2026 due to a technical error.