India: Domestic copper prices remain range-bound w-o-w

India's copper market displayed a range-bound trend, with prices showing a slight weekly increase. This can be attributed to the recovery seen in three-month copper futures, which moved up $100-110/t on the London Metal Exchange (LME).

Copper prices on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) rose after falling from past two consecutive weeks. Prices rose 0.7% to INR 715,000/t today w-o-w. Meanwhile, copper prices on the Commodity Exchange (COMEX) market was slightly up by 0.3% to $8,337/t as compared to the previous week.

Despite concerns about demand, the prices have witnessed a w-o-w rise. Although, in the scrap market, India stands out as the sole country actively procuring copper scrap, whereas other major buyers such as South Korea, Malaysia, and China have shown relatively lower activity.

Major global lookout

Chile, the world's top copper-producing country, reported the fourth straight drop in y-o-y copper output. The country produced 14% less copper in May 2023 at 0.41 million tonnes (mnt) than last year, followed by a decline of over 5% in April 2023, reaching 0.42 mnt compared to 0.44 mnt in March 2023.

This indicates that copper prices may gain support amid lower supply to meet long-term growth in demand, SteelMint observed.

Imported market scenario

In the imported market segment, the price of copper motor scrap originating from the US was recently noted at $1,135/t, reflecting a marginal weekly decrease of $35/t on CFR Mundra.

UAE-origin birch cliff was traded at 91% of LME's 3-month price. Approximately a deal of around 80-90 t was concluded recently.

It is also heard that birch cliff offer price from Middle East was also contracted to 90-90.5% of LME as compared to last week's level of 90.5-91% of LME.

MCX copper prices inch up

Copper prices on the MCX rose after falling from past 2 consecutive weeks. Prices rose 0.7% to INR 715,000/t today w-o-w.

Copper armature scrap prices in India stood at INR 680,000/t, while secondary rod prices rose by INR 8,000-9,000/t w-o-w to INR 724,000/t.

LME copper futures moved up $100-110/t to close at $8,360/t yesterday as against $8,255/t on 28 June.

Conclusion

Indian copper prices have been supported by the combination of a weakened US dollar and positive market sentiment at the beginning of the second half of 2023. However, the relatively subdued market sentiment could potentially exert an impact on copper prices in the near future.