Get started

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from May 15

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Friday May 15 that are worth another look.

May 18, 2020
By Generic people page
Base metals Copper

A diversified portfolio may well prove to be a winning ticket for metals and mining companies during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the former chief executive officer of Rio Tinto.

The stainless sector in the United States and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region will consume 13% less nickel this year, while that in China will fall by just 4% versus 2019, according to Nornickel.

Steady demand from China continued to prop up prices in Southeast Asia’s steel billet market over the past week, sources told Fastmarkets on May 15.

Fastmarkets’ Shanghai benchmark copper premium surged to its highest level since September 2015 on May 15, with traders looking for overseas material to tap arbitrage gains. sources said.

The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to lead to another casualty: the mega mine.

What to read next
Copper smelter close up
Kamoa-Kakula Q1 copper concentrate output falls 54% year on year, Ivanhoe weighs third-party purchases
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.
April 20, 2026
 · 
By Julienne Raboca
CESCO Week 2026
10 topics in focus at CESCO Week 2026 as sulfuric acid upends the copper market
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.
April 17, 2026
 · 
By Julienne Raboca
Fastmarkets proposes changes to Asia copper concentrates index weighting, seeks feedback on normalization of gold and silver
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 […]
April 8, 2026
 · 
By Fastmarkets pricing team
Steel
Aluminium’s challenge now beyond moving the metal | Hotter Commodities
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.
April 2, 2026
 · 
By Andrea Hotter
Water, Waterfront, Port
Aluminium in energy crossfire as Hormuz uncertainty drags on
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.
April 1, 2026
 · 
By Madeline Morgan
Pricing Notice
Fastmarkets extends consultation on NCM/NCA black mass methodology, proposes changes to price names
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.
March 27, 2026
 · 
By Fastmarkets pricing team