IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from October 2

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday October 2 that are worth another look.

Estimated arbitrage opportunities between Southeast Asian warehouses and the US Midwest were little changed in September, on a steady US aluminium market.

The US copper cathode premium fell to its lowest level since July 2018 due to weakened demand and United States-China trade war concerns in the week to Tuesday October 1, while sufficient stocks kept European market activity – and the premium – subdued.

A judge in the United Kingdom has ruled that broker Marex Spectron must pay up to $32 million in losses to French bank Natixis stemming from a case of forged warehouse receipts more than two years ago.

Spot activity for both zinc and lead remained minimal in the week to October 1, while premiums across other global markets were left unchanged.

Taiwan will defer the imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on five Chinese steel and stainless steel products, the island’s customs administration said last week.

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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 […]
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.
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.