The Metal Bulletin news team preview base metals in 2017

Metal Bulletin's price reporters look forward to the major issues and industry trends that face the base metals industry in 2017.

Below are a number of recently published pieces by Metal Bulletin looking forward to the major issues and industry trends that face the base metals industry in 2017. Their regular news and opinions pieces are usually published on the FastMarkets Professional platform as part of our base metals news service. The below news stories are all available on the FastMarkets.com website.

To see our complete news coverage, please click her to take a free trial of FastMarkets Professional. 2017 Metals Preview

Will zinc win popularity contest again or lose to nickel next year?
by Perrine Faye

LME to benefit from volatility surge in ‘structural shift’
By Kathleen Retourne

Japanese aluminium buyers will increase spot exposure in supply contracts
By Ian Walker

Physical trading platforms a new pricing battlefield in China
by Kiki Kang

Copper market preference wavers between benchmark and spot
by Kiki Kang

LME copper longs may tire in Q1; shorting seen as risky
By Kathleen Retourne

Can commodities benefit from China’s real estate curbs?
By Andrea Hotter

Indonesia, Philippines supply issues take centre stage in nickel
by Vivian Teo

Ali premiums could spike again on dwindling availability in Europe
By Jethro Wookey

Zhuzhou makes good on production cuts as Chinese zinc smelters feel the pinch
By Archie Hunter

About the FastMarkets metals news service The FastMarkets platform delivers base metals news and market reports from Metal Bulletin and American Metal Market journalists based across the world.

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What to read next
There has been a freefall in copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) this year amid tighter supply in the market. In 2025, supply tightness is projected to keep copper concentrates TC/RCs low on average for the whole year, sources told Fastmarkets.
The publication of Fastmarkets’ Shanghai copper premiums on Monday December 23 were delayed because of a reporter error. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
Fastmarkets proposes to amend the frequency of the publication of several US base metal price assessments to a monthly basis, including MB-PB-0006 lead 99.97% ingot premium, ddp Midwest US; MB-SN-0036 tin 99.85% premium, in-whs Baltimore; MB-SN-0011 tin 99.85% premium, ddp Midwest US; MB-NI-0240 nickel 4x4 cathode premium, delivered Midwest US and MB-NI-0241 nickel briquette premium, delivered Midwest US.
The news that President-elect Donald Trump is considering additional tariffs on goods from China as well as on all products from US trading partners Canada and Mexico has spurred alarm in the US aluminium market at a time that is usually known to be calm.
Unlike most other commodities, cobalt is primarily a by-product – with 60% derived from copper and 38% from nickel – so how will changes in those markets change the picture for cobalt in the coming months following a year of price weakness and oversupply in 2024?
Copper recycling will become increasingly critical as the world transitions to cleaner energy systems, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a special report published early this week.