Non-ferrous metals' prices on LME move southward

Prices of non-ferrous metals on the London Metal Exchange (LME) depicted downtrend as of the last trading day. Three-month aluminium futures remained largely stable at $2,199/t, nickel prices went down by 0.9% to $18,546/t, copper prices dipped by 0.5% to $7,949/t, zinc prices fell by 0.1% to $2,446/t and lead prices dropped by 0.5% to $2,042/t. Similarly, metal stocks in LME-registered warehouses also witnessed declines except lead.

COMEX market

Copper prices on the Commodity Exchange (COMEX) fell by 1% to reach $7,853/t from $7,897/t on the last trading day.

India's non-ferrous market

The aluminium scrap market in India showed no change on the last trading day, as buyers displayed limited interest and sellers refrained from reducing their prices, resulting in a stagnant market situation. Meanwhile, LME aluminium futures remained relatively stable, at the time of the report.

Similarly, copper prices in the domestic market remained steady, with buyers exercising caution due to weak global demand, which was putting pressure on prices.

Global updates

Euro zone industrial production update

Euro zone industrial production in August exceeded expectations, with a 0.6% m-o-m increase, although it remained 5.1% lower y-o-y. The stronger performance was attributed to increased production of durable and non-durable consumer goods, as well as capital goods. The IMF has lowered its growth forecasts for the euro zone, citing concerns over geopolitical fragmentation and rising inflation.

Oil prices steady

Oil prices remained relatively unchanged today after a previous week's surge. Investors are monitoring the Israel-Hamas conflict to see if it escalates and involves other nations, which could lead to further price increases and potential economic repercussions globally.

Brent oil futures went up marginally by 0.02% to $90.91 per barrel. Crude oil WTI futures remained unchanged at $87.69 per barrel, at the time of reporting.

Natural gas prices drop

Prices of natural gas were recorded at $3.327/MMBtu, down by 0.51% 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 106.52, witnessing a slight drop of 0.12%, at the time of reporting.

The rupee was recorded at 83.25 against the dollar, depreciating by 0.02% against the previous closing.