A United Auto Workers (UAW) strike at the American Axle factory in Three Rivers, Michigan, that began on Monday June 1 could lead to reduced demand for automotive steel if not resolved quickly, but analysts disagree on whether it will ultimately have a significant impact.

Half a million tonnes of copper is sitting in US warehouses, and the traders who put it there are starting to wonder whether they’ve built a hedge, or a trap.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) flows, has been closed for three months since US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28, driving up energy costs and putting Europe's aluminium sector under pressure.

JX Advanced Metals, Mitsui Kinzoku, Marubeni and Mitsubishi Materials(MMC) inked a deal to integrate MMC's copper concentrate procurement and related products sales business into Pan Pacific Copper (PPC), marking a significant consolidation of Japan's copper concentrate purchasing sector amid persistent pressure from weak treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs).

An interview with Assistant Secretary, Michael Cadenazzi at the Department of War, as it is known, and Zach Boykin, the department's technical director for strategic and critical minerals with Andrea Hotter for the Fast Forward podcast.

European buyers were still seeking Ukrainian steel despite the recent rollout of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, but constraints on production during wartime were preventing mills from fulfilling the demand, the industry said.

Vingroup Corp subsidiary VinMetal and UK-based Primetals Technologies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday May 7 to cooperate on the development of VinMetal’s high-tech integrated steel complex in Vietnam’s Ha Tinh province, according to local media reports.

Critical minerals have long sat quietly in the background of industrial supply chains. Today, they are at the centre of national security strategy. Fastmarkets’ Andrea Hotter speaks to senior officials from the US Department of Defense in the lastest Fast Forward podcast episode.

South Korea has stepped up its efforts to support its steel sector, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and tariff pressures elsewhere, by including the sector in a $54 billion support package for key industries in the country, Fastmarkets understands.

Steel energy tube and pipe prices will continue rising amid the US war with Iran and a lack of imported material, Cody Schlueter, president and owner of Port Pipe and Tube, told Fastmarkets in an exclusive interview on May 4.