IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from May 24

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Friday May 24 that are worth another look.

The three-month nickel price on the London Metal Exchange climbed by more than 4% at the close of trading on Friday May 24, soaring beyond $12,300 per tonne amid a slight softening of the dollar index and while investors sought to cover shorts ahead of the next week’s bank holiday in the United Kingdom.

Codelco expects to maintain current copper output at around 1.68 million tonnes per year over at least the next decade, the Chilean state-owned miner said, despite operational changes and sector headwinds.

Fastmarkets’ assessment of the tin warrant premium available on the LME climbed by more than 60% on Tuesday, reaching its highest level on record amid a flurry of higher-quality stock inflows.

Jiangxi Copper International Trading Co Ltd president Su Li has stepped down from his role, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed.

Belgian battery materials manufacturer Umicore SA has reached an agreement with Freeport Cobalt to acquire the latter’s cobalt refining and cathode precursor business at the Kokkola refinery in Finland.

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Fastmarkets proposes to amend the frequency of the publication of several US base metal price assessments to a monthly basis, including MB-PB-0006 lead 99.97% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US; MB-SN-0036 tin 99.85% premium, in-whs Baltimore; MB-SN-0011 tin 99.85% premium, ddp Midwest US; MB-NI-0240 nickel 4x4 cathode premium, delivered Midwest US and MB-NI-0241 nickel briquette premium, delivered Midwest US.
The news that President-elect Donald Trump is considering additional tariffs on goods from China as well as on all products from US trading partners Canada and Mexico has spurred alarm in the US aluminium market at a time that is usually known to be calm.
Unlike most other commodities, cobalt is primarily a by-product – with 60% derived from copper and 38% from nickel – so how will changes in those markets change the picture for cobalt in the coming months following a year of price weakness and oversupply in 2024?
Copper recycling will become increasingly critical as the world transitions to cleaner energy systems, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a special report published early this week.
Fastmarkets proposes to lower the frequency of its assessments for MB-AL-0389 aluminium low-carbon differential P1020A, US Midwest and MB-AL-0390 aluminium low-carbon differential value-added product US Midwest. Fastmarkets also proposes to extend the timing window of these same assessments to include any transaction data concluded within up to 18 months.
Fastmarkets invited feedback from the industry on its non-ferrous and industrial minerals methodologies, via an open consultation process between October 8 and November 6, 2024. This consultation was done as part of our published annual methodology review process.