Non-ferrous metals prices on LME show mixed trends

Prices of non-ferrous metals on the London Metal Exchange (LME) showed mixed trends d-o-d. Three-month aluminum futures remained largely stable at $2,143/t, nickel inched up by 0.1% to $19,804/t, copper dropped 0.3% to $8,167/t, zinc prices fell by 1.3% to $2,283/t and lead prices dipped 0.05% to $2,120/t. Similarly, metal stocks in LME registered warehouses witnessed mixed trends. Notably, zinc stocks moved up significantly by 32% to 141,750 t from 106,900 t.

COMEX market

Copper prices on the Commodity Exchange (COMEX) witnessed a decrease of 0.3% to reach $8,117/t from $8,139/t in the last trading day.

India: Non-ferrous scrap markets

Aluminium

The Indian domestic aluminum alloy ingot market maintained stability despite factors like steady scrap rates, futures contract corrections, and primary producer price cuts. Limited supply of critical raw material, aluminum scrap tense, resulted in premiums offered by buyers for ADC12 production in the northern region. On the other hand, the local aluminum scrap market witnessed a minor price decrease.

Copper

Copper prices hit a multi-month low yesterday amid market decline and a stronger dollar. LME rates slightly dropped to $8,198/t, matching levels from 29 June at $8,177/t. Buyer caution led to hesitancy in purchases.

Global updates

Australia unemployment rate rises

Australia's unemployment rate rose to 3.7% in July, up 0.2% points, with employment declining by 15,000 individuals and the number of unemployed increasing by 36,000. Meanwhile, July included school holidays affecting employment patterns and the figures remained above pre-pandemic levels, with an annual 5.2% increase in hours worked.

Japan's July exports decline

Japan's July exports declined 0.3%, the first drop in 2.5 years, attributed to weakened demand for light oil and chip-making equipment, particularly from China. Amid concerns of a global recession, exports to China fell 13.4%, while US-bound shipments rose 13.5%. The data underscores worries about Japan's economic outlook and suggests that the Bank of Japan may delay monetary policy normalisation.

Oil prices drop d-o-d

Brent oil futures dipped marginally by 0.2% to $83.28 per barrel. Crude oil WTI futures moved down slightly by 0.3% to $79.12 per barrel.

Natural gas prices dip

Prices of natural gas were recorded at $2.586/MMBtu, down 0.2% 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 103.55, witnessing a slight rise of 0.12%.

The rupee was recorded at 83.12 against the dollar, appreciating marginally by 0.18% against the last closing.