IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from May 9

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Thursday May 9 that are worth another look.

Aluminium traders in Europe have been switching business to the Italian port of Trieste in the past month, due to high stock levels leading to opportunistic trading. Market sources told Fastmarkets that the port is ideal for sending material into neighboring Central and Eastern Europe, with trucking costs relatively low.

The Chinese spot alumina price could rise over the course of 2019 despite new capacity planned this year due to new downstream aluminium projects which outpace the raw material’s capacity expansion, Fastmarkets learned during LME Asia Week in Hong Kong this week.

Guangxi Nanguo Copper’s cathode output is unlikely to be affected by a halt of its copper anode operation line in late April, market sources told Fastmarkets MB on the sidelines of LME Asia Week in Hong Kong this week.

The European ferro-molybdenum market moved up again in the first half of the week on the strength in the oxide market amid tight availability, which continues to support the alloy market.

Spot demand for cobalt sulfate in China following the Labor Day holiday (May 1-4) has been weak, with consumers continuing to conduct “hand-to-mouth” procurement, Fastmarkets learned during the latest pricing session.

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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 […]
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Rio Tinto Aluminium is expanding its footprint beyond its historic hydro-powered Canadian base, targeting Europe, Asia and Latin America as part of a deliberate diversification strategy, according to the unit’s chief executive officer.
Fastmarkets has corrected its copper concentrates treatment and refinement charge indices, which were published incorrectly on March 20 2026 due to a technical error.