IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from March 6

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday March 6 that are worth another look.

Most flat steel import prices in South America have remained unchanged in the week ended March 6, in a market lull before the start of negotiations for May shipments, although sellers were indicating that more expensive offers would be presented in the weeks ahead.

The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) has forecast that refined copper usage in 2020-21 will increase year on year by 1.5%, owing in part to sustained economic growth in the United States.

Nickel demand from China is likely to decline more than anticipated because of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, Nornickel said during its earnings call.

The battery-grade lithium carbonate price in China broke its steady streak in the week to Thursday March 5 after producers cut offers to meet cash flow needs, while European and US battery-grade prices fell by over 4% week on week.

Key data from the chrome pricing sessions in Asia, Europe and the United States for the week ending March 6.

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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.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ US base metals prices were published early during the week of March 11-15 following the daylight saving time change in the US on March 10.