Base metals prices show mixed trends

Base metals prices on all major exchanges showed mixed trends in the last closing session on 3 January 2023.

Three-months contract prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed on a mixed note yesterday. Aluminium fell by 2.8%, zinc rose by 1%, lead decreased by 0.6%, copper edged down by 0.6% and nickel rose by 3.6%.

SHFE copper fell 1.01%, aluminium lost 1.15%, lead dropped 0.13%, and zinc slid 0.17%.

MCX futures prices remained volatile on the last trading day. nickel was up 2.4% at INR 2,607/kg, lead moved up by 0.3% to INR 189/kg, copper down by 0.8% to INR 715/kg, aluminium was down 2.2% to INR 205/kg, while zinc decreased by 0.3% to INR 269/kg.

USA's Manufacturing PMI declines in Dec'22

On 3 January, USA released the final reading of the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) report, which indicated that manufacturing PMI has declined from 47.7 in November to 46.2 in December.

LME stock levels decrease

Base metals stocks at LME-registered warehouses decreased by up to 4.8% in the last session today. However, lead stocks remained stable.

Oil prices down

Brent oil futures were down 4.2% to $81.7 per barrel, while crude oil WTI futures were down by 4% to $80.26 per barrel at the time of publishing this report.

Dollar index

The dollar index, which gauges the value of the dollar in a basket of six different currencies, hovered at around 104.52 at the time of publishing this report, largely stable against the last session.

The Indian rupee (INR) changed a little against the US dollar ($) on 3 January, as markets awaited a host of data from the world's top economy to find direction this week.

The rupee was recorded at 82.87 against the US dollar, depreciating 0.10 paise against the previous closing.