India: Base metals track strengthening currency exchange prices

Supply improved in the Indian non-ferrous metals market amid increased transaction volumes. Prices of non-ferrous scrap mainly showed a positive trend, moving up by up to INR 9,000/t on a d-o-d basis, as per SteelMint's assessment.

But, semi-finished and finished products were also influenced by raw material (non-ferrous scrap) prices that jumped up by around INR 5,000-10,000/t except lead which largely remained range-bound today.

Factors that could be attributed to the price increase:

US mulls cut in tariffs on Chinese goods: The commodity market saw an uptrend today as the US government hinted that it was mulling a reduction in tariffs on Chinese goods. This lifted market sentiments and also improved the Indian currency by 0.15 paise to INR 77.57 against the dollar during trading session.

Also the US Dollar Index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 1% lower at 102.12, advancing the buying interest for overseas scrap.

LME stock drop: LME-registered warehouse inventories recorded 174,600 tonnes (t) of stock, down by 3,950 t d-o-d on 20 May. Inline cash settlement prices improved by around $200/t to $9,450/t and three-month prices remained range-bound, SteelMint learned.

This uptrend was reflected in primary copper wire rod prices which were recorded at INR 795,000/t ($10,244/t), up by INR 10,000/t ($129/t) d-o-d. Secondary copper wire rod prices were also up by INR 10,000/t ($129/t) on a d-o-d basis to INR 770,000/t ($9,921/t).

Aluminium tense scrap prices were recorded at INR 165,000/t ($2,126/t), up INR 2,000/t ($26/t), d-o-d, and aluminium ingot P1020 prices were recorded at INR 265,000/t ($3,415/t) up INR 5,000/t ($64/t), d-o-d. Copper armature scrap prices were recorded at INR 730,000/t ($9,406/t) up by INR 9,000/t ($116/t), d-o-d.

Prices of special high-grade zinc ingots were recorded at INR 330,000/t ($4,252/t), up by INR 10,000/t ($129/t). Prices of lead ingots were recorded at INR 186,000/t ($2,397/t) and 200,000/t ($2,577/t) for secondary and & primary materials respectively. Easing Covid restrictions in China support the basic market outlook and rebound in the price trend. Trade participants are hopeful that price levels will remain supportive in the near term and some sellers have also held back their offers to cash in on the current market dynamics.