Base metals prices continue downward trend

Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) continued the downtrend on the last trading day. All base metals prices decreased except nickel as the market is still concerned about the aggressive rate hike in the remaining months of this year.

Biden to release 15 million barrels from its reserves

President Joe Biden will announce today that he's putting the final 15 million barrels on the market from a record release of US strategic oil reserves, with more releases possible if energy prices spike, as per latest reports.

Base metals market performance - 18 October

• LME's three-month copper futures fell 1.86%, nickel up 1.56%, aluminium decreased by 1.62%, zinc fell by 0.10% and lead down by 0.64%.
  
  
• SHFE copper slid 1.07%, aluminium shed 0.35%, lead inched down 0.16%, and zinc added 0.67%.
  
  
• On MCX, aluminium was down by 2.5%, nickel decreased slightly by 0.3%, lead edged down by 0.1%, copper fell by 1.2%, and zinc increased by 0.5%.
  
  

Stock levels fluctuate

Copper, aluminum and nickel stocks at LME-registered warehouses increased by up to 11% d-o-d in the last session. However, zinc and lead stocks decreased by up to 0.25%.

Oil prices fall

Meanwhile, brent oil futures fell 1.42% to $90.31 per barrel, while crude oil WTI futures were down 1% at $83.48 per barrel at the time of reporting.

Currency exchange

The Indian rupee depreciated slightly by 0.24 paise to 82.35 against the greenback at the time of reporting.

The dollar index, which gauges the value of the dollar in a basket of six different currencies, hovered at around 112.21, up marginally by 0.07% against the last session.