IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from May 26

Here are five Fastmarkets stories you might have missed on Tuesday May 26 that are worth another look.

Workers at Tata Steel’s plant at IJmuiden in the Netherlands staged a lightning protest on May 26, but output was unaffected, the company said.

Japanese steel producers which use electric-arc furnaces (EAFs) are being forced into raising their purchasing prices for ferrous scrap feedstock despite there being no upward movement in their steel sales prices, sources in Japan have told Fastmarkets.

The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) has cut its 2020 global mined copper forecast by 950,000 tonnes, equivalent to nearly 4 million tonnes of copper concentrates output, citing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Several market participants have reported that sentiment has improved in the cobalt market, but the metal’s price continued to edge downward on May 26, showing that this has yet to put the brakes on the slide in spot prices.

South Africa will further ease nationwide restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19 from June 1, allowing the vast majority of the economy to return to production, according to a public address by the country’s president on Sunday May 24.

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Brazil's aluminium industry is further enhancing its sustainability by boosting renewable energy use and recycling, while mitigating risk from high-carbon imports
German copper producer Aurubis is among the least likely to consider reducing capacity despite record low treatment charges (TCs), according to its chief executive officer
European copper demand, particularly for wire rod, remains strong and seems to be outpacing broader macro-economic growth in the region, the chief executive officer of German producer Aurubis has said.
The process to place the smaller and less efficient of the two processing plants at Los Bronces on care and maintenance is expected to be completed by mid-2024 and comes as the company pushes value over volume, the chief executive officer of Anglo American Chile said
The near-term prospects for Chinese copper smelting capacity amid near-zero treatment charges (TCs) will, to a certain extent, depend on plants’ exposure to spot TCs, the chief executive officer of Rio Tinto’s copper division said on Tuesday, April 16
It will be very difficult for many Chinese copper smelters to compete with treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) at record lows, according to the chairman of Chile’s state-owned copper producer Codelco