Non-ferrous metals prices on LME display upward trend except lead

Prices of non-ferrous metals on the London Metal Exchange (LME) witnessed positive trend except lead. Three-month aluminium futures inched up by 0.1% to $2,241/t, nickel prices went up by 1.9% to $18,939/t, copper prices edged up by 0.7% to $8,104/t and zinc prices gained by 0.2% to $2,513/t. Conversely, lead prices dipped by 0.6% to $2,130/t. Meanwhile, metal stocks in LME-registered warehouses witnessed mixed trends.

COMEX market

Copper prices on the Commodity Exchange (COMEX) gained 1% to reach $8,007/t from $7,963/t on the last trading day.

India's non-ferrous market

India's aluminium scrap market started the week on a stable note yesterday. Nevertheless, suppliers are holding their offers due to limited demand, according to market participants.

On the other hand, domestic copper prices experienced an upward trend as sellers became more active in response to a sudden increase in future prices. Sellers began destocking slowly, anticipating even higher prices for materials. Secondary rod and copper armature scrap prices increased by up to 1.2%.

Global updates

German industrial output declines in Aug'23

German industrial output declined by 0.2% in August, marking the fourth consecutive monthly contraction and raising concerns of a recession. While some attributed the drop to volatile components, others expected high interest rates and declining demand to further contract industrial output, possibly leading to a technical recession.

Malaysia's employment rises in Aug'23

Malaysia's employed persons increased by 0.1% in August, totaling 16.35 million. The service sector, including wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage services, and transportation, saw employment growth. The number of unemployed persons decreased by 0.3% to 577.3 thousand, with an unemployment rate of 3.4%.

UK retail sales up 2.7% in Sep'23

UK total retail sales grew by 2.7% in September, consistent with the 3-month average but lower than the 12-month average of 4.2%. Food sales rose by 7.4% over the three months to September, while non-food sales declined by 1.2% during the same period. In-store non-food sales increased by 0.3%, and online non-food sales decreased by 3.6% in September. The penetration rate for non-food items bought online decreased to 34.9%.

Major companies advocate for U.S. investment in clean aluminium

Prominent companies including Ford, General Motors, PepsiCo, Ball Corp., Rivian, and SunPower have written a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm advocating for federal investment in clean aluminium production. They emphasize the importance of preserving and expanding domestic aluminium manufacturing and propose leveraging the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to secure a sustainable supply of clean energy. These efforts aim to revitalize the American aluminium industry and promote sustainability.

Oil prices down

Oil prices retreated today following a more than 4% surge in the previous session. Traders remained cautious, closely monitoring the situation for potential supply disruptions due to military clashes between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Brent oil futures went down by 0.44% to $87.76 per barrel. Crude oil WTI futures fell by 0.49% to $85.96 per barrel, at the time of reporting.

Natural gas prices dip

Prices of natural gas were recorded at $3.343/MMBtu, down 0.98% at the time of publishing this report.

Dollar index

The dollar index, which gauges value of the greenback in a basket of six different currencies, hovered at 106.12, witnessing a slight rise of 0.04%.

The rupee was recorded at 82.95 against the dollar, remained largely stable against the previous closing.