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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Copper in concentrate production from Ivanhoe Mines' Kamoa-Kakula complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fell to 61,906 tonnes in the first quarter, down by 54% from 133,120 tonnes a year earlier, with the company now evaluating local third-party concentrate purchases to advance the ramp-up of its on-site smelter, according to an April 13 production release as the market focused its attention on the impact of global sulfuric acid shortages during CESCO Week in Chile from April 13-17.
China's planned sulfuric acid export ban from May 1, historic lows for copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) and a fragmenting 2026 benchmark system dominated CESCO Week 2026 in Santiago from April 13-17.
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.