Metals
Overview
The global metals markets are evolving rapidly, shaped by shifting supply chains, rising demand for critical minerals, geopolitical uncertainty, and increasing price volatility across ferrous, non‑ferrous and emerging technology metals. Argus provides independent metals pricing, trusted benchmarks and actionable market intelligence that give mining companies, metal producers, traders, manufacturers and recyclers the clarity and confidence they need to navigate increasing cost exposure, manage risks and make data-driven decisions.
Covering the steel supply chain, base metals, critical metals including rare earths, scrap, ferroalloys, raw materials and energy‑transition metals, Argus delivers accurate, reliable price assessments that reflect real market activity. Companies worldwide reference Argus metals benchmarks in physical and financial contracts to ensure fair, consistent and market‑aligned pricing, a crucial advantage in regions where regulatory environments, trade flows and cost structures vary dramatically.
With expert analysis, regional metals prices, market reporting, and fundamentals data, Argus helps users track market sentiment, identify key metals price drivers and stay informed on developments across ferrous, non‑ferrous and critical minerals markets, supported by localized coverage in the most active trading regions. This includes rapid shifts driven by developments in emerging supply chains, logistics constraints, shifting demand conditions, energy and input‑cost volatility, and China’s dominant role in global metals supply and demand, where changes in production, export policy, or refining capacity can quickly move global metals prices, availability and trade flows.
Argus empowers stakeholders across steel, raw materials, non‑ferrous and critical metals markets with reliable data, clear insights and a deeper understanding of global metals‑market dynamics, helping businesses remain competitive, agile and prepared for what’s next.
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Argus offers comprehensive coverage across all major metals markets, providing independent pricing and market intelligence for steel, steel raw materials, base metals, alloys, scrap, pipe and tube, battery materials, rare earths and specialty and minor metals. Our pricing and market intelligence provide a clear, structured view of metals markets worldwide, helping you monitor key trends and respond to shifting market dynamics with confidence.
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Latest metals news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global metals industry.
EU parliament rejects CBAM suspension clause: Update
EU parliament rejects CBAM suspension clause: Update
Adds deletion of Paris agreement carbon credits clause Brussels, 15 September (Argus) — The European Parliament today confirmed its rejection of a proposed new Article 27a to the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) that would have allowed the temporary suspension of the scheme for certain products. At the same time, they backed extending the CBAM to more than 180 additional steel and aluminium-intensive downstream products, including structures, pipes, tubes and components. Parliament's environment committee had already voted in July to extend the CBAM to a long list of downstream goods containing steel or aluminium. "This Article [27a] prevents investments in technologies of the future and punishes those that have already moved ahead," parliament's centre-left S&D draftsman Mohammed Chahim said. "The same people that are sceptical of the CBAM come to me and ask whether certain CN codes can be added to the list," he said. Chahim said parliament had rejected what he described as a "disguised" subsidy for foreign fertilizers through Article 27a. Instead, support for affected sectors in serious and unforeseen circumstances should come from CBAM revenues, he said. EU member states agreed on their CBAM revisions in June , supporting a similar expansion to downstream products while retaining a narrower version of Article 27a. Under the states' proposal, the CBAM could be suspended for certain products if import prices rose to 50pc above a 10-year average and remained at that level for six months. Argus analysis in June indicated that the CBAM was unlikely to be suspended for fertilizers under current market conditions if member states' proposed amendment was included in the final legislation. Only phosphate prices in some markets were above the threshold at the time. In a separate vote, parliament extended the list of products eligible for support under the temporary decarbonisation fund (TDF) to include urea, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate and other mineral or chemical fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Wheat and barley, excluding seed, as well as iron, steel, cement and aluminium products, also remain eligible. Parliament said MEPs want TDF support available from 2027 to 2029, rather than starting in 2028 as proposed by the European Commission. And they want downstream products that use CBAM-covered goods as inputs to be eligible for support from the fund. Parliament confirmed the environment committee's previous deletion of the clause enabling the commission to take into account carbon credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement when calculating the carbon price paid abroad. Parliament also approved new anti-circumvention provisions requiring the commission to monitor patterns "indicative of artificial splitting of transactions or other circumvention strategies aimed at falling below the de minimis threshold set at 50 tonnes of net mass in the CBAM regulation". EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra urged parliament and member states to reach agreement "well before" year-end. "Without agreement, there is a risk that the downstream extension simply cannot enter into force on 1 January 2028 as planned," he said. The vote, which passed by 464 votes to 50 with 159 abstentions, clears the way for negotiations with member states on a final legal text. Governments continue to support a more limited safeguard clause that could trigger temporary CBAM suspensions for sectors facing crisis conditions. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia’s BHP iron ore worker talks hit deadlock
Australia’s BHP iron ore worker talks hit deadlock
Sydney, 15 September (Argus) — Bargaining talks between Australian mining firm BHP and unionised workers at the company's Port Hedland iron ore export operations have reached a deadlock after the parties failed to reach an enterprise agreement (EA) at their 15th bargaining meeting. Workers and union representatives at BHP's Port Hedland operations have formally rejected an EA proposal put forward by the company at the latest bargaining meeting on 15 September, the combined port unions — the Electrical Trades Union, Australian Workers Union and Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union — said today. The unions will ask workplace umpire, the Fair Work Commission (FWC), to declare the bargaining intractable and arbitrate a final agreement after almost a year of negotiations failed to resolve significant material issues between the parties, union representatives said. The intractable bargaining process can take 12-18 months to reach an outcome, a BHP spokesperson said today. The company said its proposal would simplify pay structures for workers, but the unions argued that it would leave 40pc of covered employees worse off. BHP has been formally negotiating a new EA with its Port Hedland maritime workforce since October 2025, which will cover around 450 employees, excluding contractors. Workers held industrial action on 16 July and 8-9 August . Port Hedland is the world's largest bulk iron ore export port and a key export hub in BHP's Western Australian (WA) iron ore supply chain. BHP produced 256.9mn t of iron ore from its WA operations in the July 2025-June 2026 fiscal year. All of BHP's WA iron ore is exported through Port Hedland. By Emma Partis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
SMM commissions Japan's 1st EV battery recycling plant
SMM commissions Japan's 1st EV battery recycling plant
Tokyo, 15 September (Argus) — Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) has commissioned Japan's first battery recycling plant in the country's Ehime prefecture. The facility is the country's first commercial-scale operation capable of recovering nickel, cobalt, lithium and copper from spent lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) and other applications, it told Argus today. The recycling scheme "will contribute to the realisation of a circular economy and a carbon-neutral society by making effective use of critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt, copper and lithium, which are finite resources," an SMM representative told Argus . The plant's different processes are located across two sites in Ehime — SMM's Toyo smelter in Saijo city and nickel refinery in Niihama city. It has a processing capacity equivalent to around 10,000 t/yr of battery cells. This is equivalent to batteries used in around 60,000 EVs with 40kWh battery packs, according to the company. Full-scale operations are expected to begin in fiscal year 2028. The company did not disclose the investment figure or recovery volumes or rates for individual metals. Recovered nickel and cobalt will be processed into a high-purity nickel-cobalt mixed solution and supplied to SMM's Isoura plant for use as feedstock for battery cathode materials. SMM is working with chemical producer Kanto Denka Kogyo to combine its smelting and refining technologies with Kanto Denka's high-purity lithium recovery technology, aiming to establish a "battery-to-battery" recycling system in which recovered metals are reused in new battery materials. Feedstock will be sourced from both domestic and overseas markets. In addition to black mass — a concentrated material produced by crushing, neutralising and processing spent batteries — the facility will also accept battery manufacturing scrap. The government and industry established a battery industry strategy in 2022, targeting battery manufacturing capacity of 150 GWh/yr in Japan and 600 GWh/yr globally by 2030. Japan's economy, trade and industry ministry (Meti) estimates that achieving 600 GWh/yr of global battery manufacturing capacity would require 380,000 t/yr of lithium, 310,000 t/yr of nickel, 60,000 t/yr of cobalt, 600,000 t/yr of graphite and 50,000 t/yr of manganese . By Fumito Nagase Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
BYD's EV ambitions challenge fuel demand outlook
BYD's EV ambitions challenge fuel demand outlook
Beijing, 14 September (Argus) — Debate over the extent to which electric vehicles (EVs) will erode the market share of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and the impact on fuel demand has resurfaced following recent comments from a senior executive at China's largest new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturer BYD. But the long-term outcome will depend heavily on the pace of technological progress, particularly in next-generation battery technologies. Li Ke, executive vice-president of BYD, said in an TV interview with overseas automotive media outlet Carwow.es that conventional fuel vehicles have little long-term future in China as ultra-fast charging technologies become more widely available. "In China, with the growing adoption of BYD's flash-charging technology, I believe ICE vehicles have no future. That is very clear," Li said. BYD has launched its second-generation blade battery-based fast-charging technology , enabling charging from 10pc to 70pc in around five minutes and near full charge in nine minutes. The company had built 4,239 fast-charging stations by March and plans to have 20,000 by the end of 2026. She also disclosed that BYD plans to launch vehicles equipped with solid-state batteries in 2027. Li added that the transition may take longer in overseas markets, but argued that the long-term trajectory remains the same, with EVs eventually replacing conventional fuel-powered vehicles. Strong overseas demand continued to drive sales growth at BYD in August , after overseas revenue exceeded domestic revenue for the first time in the first half. BYD became the first major global automaker to formally discontinue production of pure gasoline-powered passenger vehicles in March 2022, shifting its focus entirely to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The rapid increase in EV penetration in China over the past decade, together with the prospect of another step change driven by large-scale adoption of solid-state batteries, has remained a long-term threat to gasoline and diesel demand. China's gasoline and diesel demand is set to decline sharply this year as elevated prices accelerate fuel substitution, according to state-controlled refiner Sinopec's think-tank EDRI. But Li did not specify whether BYD's planned 2027 solid-state battery vehicles would represent large-scale commercial deployment or limited pilot production. The distinction could have major implications for the future competitiveness of ICE vehicles and the pace of EV adoption. In previous comments, BYD said 2030 would mark the beginning of large-scale commercial adoption of solid-state batteries in EVs. Many industry observers view solid-state batteries as a potentially transformative technology because of their higher energy density, shorter charging times and improved safety compared with conventional lithium-ion batteries. But large-scale commercialisation remains subject to overcoming challenges related to production costs, manufacturing yields and battery longevity. Widespread adoption of solid-state batteries could trigger another phase of rapid growth in EV sales by addressing consumer concerns over driving range and charging convenience. Others argued that commercialisation timelines remain uncertain and that conventional lithium-ion technologies, particularly lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, will continue to dominate the market in the medium term. China remains the world's largest EV market, and battery technology development is expected to play a key role in determining the future balance between EVs and conventional vehicles over the coming decade. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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