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China is looking to set up an iron ore purchasing group by the end of 2022 and build distribution centers at ports, as domestic industry players seek more bargaining power in iron ore trade negotiations and supply security, industry sources said June 24. This development, if realized, will be in line with broader industry plans […]

Century Aluminum will temporarily halt operations at its Hawesville, Kentucky, aluminum smelter for up to a year due to high global energy prices, the company said in a statement June 22. The smelter is expected to begin the idling process June 27. The company expects operations to remain offline for a period of nine to

Grains traders Bunge and Viterra said June 22 that missiles had hit their grain and sunflower oil terminals in Nikolayiv, one of Ukraine’s most important agricultural ports, as Russia’s war with Ukraine encompasses key commercial assets. The attacks on Nikolayiv come just under four months after the country was invaded by Russia and on the

Indonesian thermal coal producers will face difficulty supplying the renewed European thermal coal demand, despite the significant premiums available in the market, as weather-related issues continue to hamper production. German coal and lignite operators have started to prepare for a return of reserve units to the market, and the impending ban on Russian thermal coal

The US is to invest $74.6 million across 30 states in order to fund new research and mapping in critical minerals, and strengthen key domestic supply chains, the US Department of the Interior said June 21. The funding will also go into geoscience data collection, data preservation, and scientific interpretation of areas with potential for

Battery developer Britishvolt has extended its partnership with Warwick Manufacturing Group, or WMG, at the University of Warwick by two years to develop electric vehicle battery cell technologies, it said June 22. It did not give the exact value of the deal, but said it was a multi-million-pound project that would use WMG’s research to

Metinvest Group advised global steel buyers on June 21 to not purchase products that originated from its Ilyich and Azovstal mills in Ukraine, saying that large volumes of the mills’ steel were stolen by Russian forces from the port of Mariupol. “Metinvest enterprises have underlined that there is a high probability of theft and smuggling

The rift between US hot-rolled coil and plate prices continued to widen on June 17 as plate prices have remained remarkably stable while HRC sinks. The plate premium to HRC was at $830/st, its highest level since early March. The spread between the two products hit an all-time high on March 7 of $870/st. Following

The London Metal Exchange is to introduce a weekly over-the-counter (OTC) position reporting framework for all its physically delivered metals to enhance market trade visibility, effective July 18, despite members’ reservations, the LME said June 17. It will also extend accountability levels to OTC positions from the same date, it said in a statement. The

Near term scrap futures contracts on the London Metal Exchange saw heavy declines over the week to June 16, while the trading volumes increased week on week. Platts, part o S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the June contract down $31/mt over the week to $388.50/mt on June 16, while the July contract fell $51.25/mt to