IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 5 key stories from September 4

Here are five Fastmarkets MB stories you might have missed on Wednesday September 4 that are worth another look.

A sustained weakness in the United States’ Midwest aluminium premium and increased barge freight rates pushed the estimated arbitrage between Southeast Asian warehouses and the United States to an 18-month low.

Zinc premiums in Northern Europe have risen with falling zinc prices, while spreads on the London Metal Exchange went into backwardation. Meanwhile, lead premiums were broadly flat with many market participants attending an industry conference.

Atlantic Copper, Europe’s third largest copper smelter and refinery, has delayed intake of copper concentrates for up to two weeks, with primary smelting reduced to 40% capacity after an outage at its electric furnace, sources at the company told Fastmarkets.

After a period of correction that lasted for about three weeks, the price for Chinese cobalt metal has been given fresh strength by rising raw materials costs and tightened spot supply.

Flat steel producer ArcelorMittal Italia will “continue operations beyond” September 6 at its plant in Taranto, Italy, despite the country’s adoption of the so-called Crescita Decree law, the company said on September 4.

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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.