IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from July 7

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday July 7 that are worth another look.

Protests on July 7 halted road freight transportation in South Africa.

Steel plate prices in the United States weakened after the segment was hit by persistently slow end markets, and some mills were willing to capitulate in deal-making to book tonnage in the final days of the second quarter.

China has issued its ninth round of scrap metal import quotas for 2020, approving considerably larger volumes than in previous rounds at a time of persisting uncertainty surrounding the country’s move to rename certain non-ferrous scrap metal as renewable materials.

First Quantum Minerals is to resume production at its Cobre Panama copper project after Panama’s government lifted its Covid-19 suspension of operations at the site.

Demand for ammonium paratungstate (APT) in Europe and the United States is still struggling to recover from the effects of Covid-19 but prices might be approaching a floor, market sources told Fastmarkets.

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 […]