IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from October 22

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 22 that are worth another look.

Anglo American has raised the 2019 iron ore production guidance for its Minas Rio operations in Brazil while maintaining the one for its Kumba operations in South Africa.

Europe’s largest copper producer, Aurubis, has announced its annual copper cathode premium for 2020 at $96 per tonne, unchanged from last year’s level, the company confirmed to Fastmarkets on October 22.

Chinese vanadium exporters continued to lower offers amid minimal buying interest abroad, while European and US ferro-vanadium prices continued to suffer from lackluster consumer interest.

Around 15,000-30,000 tonnes of nickel cathode has been transferred from the Shanghai bonded zone to London Metal Exchange-registered warehouses in Southeast Asia since September amid attempts by market participants to avoid incurring steeper losses by importing the metal into China against prevailing discounts, sources told Fastmarkets.

The Chinese domestic silico-manganese price continued to fall during the week ended Friday October 18 on abundant alloy supply and declining ore prices.

What to read next
The amendment follows the decision made on May 14, after a consultation period for the proposed changes which took place between April 3 and May 11. The changes were first proposed in a pricing note published on April 3.  The purpose of the changes is to align the publication times to the activity in the […]
The proposal follows Fastmarkets’ observations that the commodity sees inactive spot liquidity and low volatility in prices. The proposed new specifications for the prices are as follows, with the amendments in italics: MB-NI-0246 Nickel sulfate, cif Japan and Korea, $/tonneQuality: Accepted by buyer for use in battery applications with chemical composition: Ni content, base 22.3% […]
Based on preliminary market feedback, market participants noted that smaller-sized spot market transactions may be skewed and not reflective of the wider market. The aluminium P1020A(MJP), cif Japan, assessment specification which has a minimum tonnage of 100 tonnes will be amended to 500 tonnes after the proposed change. The proposed new specifications are as follows, […]
Fastmarkets consulted the market on the proposed change between April 3 and May 11, 2026. Some feedback was received regarding the publication times of nickel pig iron and laterite ore prices. Fastmarkets will adjust the initially proposed publication times accordingly and proceed with the changes. This decision was first proposed in a methodology note published […]
The price assessments were not affected by the incorrect publication and the correct prices are showing on Dashboard. The price was published at 12.33pm London time instead of the scheduled time of 3-4pm. The following prices were published early:MB-CU-0405 Copper grade A cathode premium, in-whs Shanghai, $ per tonneMB-CU-0383 Copper grade A cathode ER premium, bonded in-whs […]
On Wednesday May 6, a critical minerals panel at Commodities Trading Week in London said metals markets are shifting from an energy transition-led narrative toward security of supply, leaving Europe particularly exposed because of its reliance on imports.