Non-ferrous metals prices on LME display mixed trends d-o-d

Prices of non-ferrous metals on the London Metal Exchange (LME) remained volatile. Over a three-month period, aluminum futures increased by 2.7% to reach $2,282/t, nickel fell marginally by 0.1% to reach $22,293/t, copper saw a gain of 1.9% to reach $8,831/t, zinc prices rose 2.7% to reach $2,565/t, and lead prices dropped by 0.4% to $2,149/t. Similarly, the stocks in the LME registered warehouse for all base metals continued to remain volatile.

COMEX market

Copper prices on the Commodity Exchange (COMEX) witnessed an increase of 2% to reach $8,799/t from $8,611/t in the last trading day.

India: Non-ferrous scrap markets

Aluminium market

Yesterday, Indian aluminum scrap prices remained unchanged compared to the closing prices of the previous week. The market experienced minimal transactional activity.

Copper market

As of 31 July 2023, the Indian domestic copper market showed high volatility in comparison to the previous trading day. This fluctuation can be attributed to the rainfall in North India. On the other hand, there is a robust demand for primary wire rods, according to sources.

Global updates

Australian Central Bank holds rates

The Australian central bank left the cash rate target at 4.10% and the interest rate paid on Exchange Settlement balances at 4.00%. Inflation is declining but still high at 6%. The economy experiences below-trend growth, and the unemployment rate is expected to rise gradually to around 4.5%. The board will closely monitor data to assess the need for further tightening of monetary policy to achieve the inflation target.

Indonesia's Q2 2023 PPI fluctuates

In April-June 2023 (Q2 2023), Indonesia's composite Producer Price Index (PPI) for agriculture, mining and quarrying, and manufacturing fell 0.98% q-o-q but rose 1.56% y-o-y. The PPI varied across sectors, with agriculture rising, mining and quarrying declining significantly, and manufacturing showing a modest increase. Other sectors also experienced diverse PPI trends.

Codelco and Rio Tinto collaboration

Chile's Codelco collaborated with Rio Tinto to explore a copper deposit in northern Chile. Rio Tinto acquired Pan American Silver's stake in the Agua de la Falda project. The move comes amidst industry consolidation as Glencore bought Pan American Silver Corp's majority stake in an Argentine copper project for $475 million.

Oil prices inch down

Brent oil futures dipped 0.35% to $85.13 per barrel. Crude oil WTI futures inched down by 0.32% to $81.54 per barrel.

Natural gas prices up

Prices of natural gas were recorded at $2.654/MMBtu, up 0.8% at the time of publishing this insight.

Dollar index

The dollar index, which gauges value of the greenback in a basket of six different currencies, hovered at 102.02, witnessing a slight rise of 0.16%.

The rupee was recorded at 82.29 against the dollar, depreciating marginally by 0.04% against the last closing.