IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from October 29

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Tuesday October 29 that are worth another look.

The decline in Asian hot-rolled coil prices has continued to apply downward pressure on slab prices in the region, sources told Fastmarkets.

The copper market is largely shrugging off the positive price effects of supply constraints and is focusing its attention on the negative consequences on growth of the trade wars, the chief executive officer of Freeport-McMoRan has said.

The London Metal Exchange announced this week that industry members will form a committee to represent the views and interests of lithium stakeholders while the exchange plans the launch of a lithium futures contract.

Indonesian officials said on October 29 that their country’s ban on the export of nickel ore will begin in January 2020, as previously scheduled, once a review of irregular ore exporting practices is concluded.

The European ferro-silicon market backtracked over the past week, erasing recent gains as demand in the region tailed off, while US and Chinese prices both held amid lackluster trading activity.

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Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Port of Sohar in Oman are becoming tactical workarounds for base metal exports blocked by the Strait of Hormuz closure, with cargo transiting via land-bridge to other Gulf states, such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – though capacity constraints and elevated logistics costs limit availability, sources with direct visibility of Gulf supply chains told Fastmarkets.
The Mexican aluminium market might be strongly affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with supply constraints and consequently higher premiums, market participants told Fastmarkets on Tuesday March 10.
Lundin Mining and BHP published a preliminary economic assessment on February 16 for their Vicuña joint venture, projecting average annual copper production of 395,000 tonnes over the first 25 years of operation as Argentina’s copper concentrate pipeline continues to build. PSJ Cobre Mendocino separately confirmed on February 14 that its feasibility study was under way.
Chinese lead smelters turned more bearish on the procurement of raw materials in the week to Friday February 13, amid heightened price volatility in silver, which is often contained in lead ores as an important by-product and contributor to smelter profits, sources told Fastmarkets.
Roughly 40,000 tonnes per month of copper cathode that once flowed smoothly into the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through Jebel Ali had few options to reroute after the Strait of Hormuz officially closed on Monday March 2, with the only alternative entry points — Khor Fakkan and Fujairah — already straining under the weight of diverted cargo, market sources told Fastmarkets.
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