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

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

Swedish stainless steel producer Sandvik is to cut 429 jobs from its Sandvik Materials Technology division later this year because of the negative impact on business of the Covid-19 pandemic

Ferrous scrap prices have ticked up slightly in Mexico, although overall steel production and industrial activity remain low, market sources told Fastmarkets.

China has released a minimal amount of quotas in its eighth announcement in 2020 to allow importers to source copper and aluminium scrap from overseas, Fastmarkets understands.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange will start trading aluminium and zinc options from August 10 after receiving approval from the China Security Regulatory Commission, the exchange said on Friday June 12.

The electric vehicle (EV) sector will continue to find support in the medium term despite the overall impact of Covid-19 on global automotive output in 2020, according to battery materials manufacturer Umicore.

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Fastmarkets will increase the frequency of its two existing CIF China port copper scrap prices and add three new grades on Monday March 16.
Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Port of Sohar in Oman are becoming tactical workarounds for base metal exports blocked by the Strait of Hormuz closure, with cargo transiting via land-bridge to other Gulf states, such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – though capacity constraints and elevated logistics costs limit availability, sources with direct visibility of Gulf supply chains told Fastmarkets.
The Mexican aluminium market might be strongly affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with supply constraints and consequently higher premiums, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 10.
Lundin Mining and BHP published a preliminary economic assessment on February 16 for their Vicuña joint venture, projecting average annual copper production of 395,000 tonnes over the first 25 years of operation as Argentina’s copper concentrate pipeline continues to build. PSJ Cobre Mendocino separately confirmed on February 14 that its feasibility study was under way.
Chinese lead smelters turned more bearish on the procurement of raw materials in the week to Friday February 13, amid heightened price volatility in silver, which is often contained in lead ores as an important by-product and contributor to smelter profits, sources told Fastmarkets.
Roughly 40,000 tonnes per month of copper cathode that once flowed smoothly into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through Jebel Ali had few options to reroute after the Strait of Hormuz officially closed on Monday March 2, with the only alternative entry points — Khor Fakkan and Fujairah — already straining under the weight of diverted cargo, market sources told Fastmarkets.