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

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

European authorities have approved an adjustment to the safeguard quota system, lowering the annual quota increase amount to 3%, as part of a review of the existing safeguard mechanism on September 4, market sources told Fastmarkets on Friday September 6.

Spot copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) edged up in the first week of September with Chinese smelters adhering to the pricing floor and traders bidding less aggressively due to a cautious fourth-quarter outlook.

Strong gains in nickel prices since the start of the month and the expectation that this strength will persist are likely to slow the pace of nickel-rich battery adoption in the electric vehicle (EV) market in the near term, market participants told Fastmarkets.

European aluminium scrap prices universally dipped on September 6 with the effects of China’s moratorium on non-ferrous scrap imports finally being felt amid a loosening scrap supply picture.

Manganese ore prices continued to soften over the past week, after a reduction in the September prices for silico-manganese further damped sentiment in the market.

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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.